And so, My Romantic Teen Life Starts to become more Interesting
by IvoryMaster
Summary: A series of short stories that the Breaking Bad Cast and SNAFU Cast find themselves in as they interact with one other.
1. And So, I Never Thought That My Life Wou

**I do not own Breaking Bad or My Romantic Teen Comedy SNAFU.**

 **And So, I Never Thought That My Life Would Become More Complicated When a Kingpin Arrives.**

After all the necessary procedures have been taken care of, passengers were now allowed to leave the airplane. Groups of the foreign passengers exited through the exit gate of the plane, minding their own business as each and every one of them had different reasons to be in Japan. There were so many people at the American terminal that wanted to go to Japan that some had to stay behind and catch the second flight; Everybody just seemed to want to go to Japan and for different reasons. Some of the passengers had family in Japan and thought that it was time to visit them. Another group wanted to go to Japan for vacationing reasons, but the majority of the group, and the most interesting, came to Japan for business reasons as many of the American passengers wore business suits as they were sent from their respective companies to negotiate with various Japanese companies. The people at the airport didn't pay much attention to the influx of American visitors for American's coming to Japan for business is quite common. It wasn't until half the passengers exited the plane that one passenger in particular stood out among the others. This passenger in particular stood out because he, by all appearances, did not look American. The Japanese people would have thought that he was from Mexico because of his dark-toned skin, but he was actually from Chile. He looked around to be his late 50's or early 60's as his rugged skin showed his age. He had graying black hair and wore glasses. His wardrobe consisted of a dark brown business suit with a red undershirt being accompanied by a red, striped tie and dark-brown dress pants along with black business shoes. Finally out of the plane, the Chilean businessman started to adjust his tie. He has made a habit of adjusting his tie several times throughout the day, making sure that it was on straight and making himself look presentable for anybody he was going to meet. Seeing somebody from South America in Japan is quite a rare occurrence, and he was aware of that because he felt the Japanese peoples' eye look towards his direction as their curiosity was peeked to see a foreigner that was not American. This was to be expected seeing that the minority groups that live in Japan are less than two percent. This phenomenon would prove inconvenient for the businessman because he would rather draw the least amount of attention to himself for his line of work required it. No, it was more like a necessity for his line of work for he was a cautious man.

Following the Chilean businessman, exactly five feet away was an elderly, American man. He was a bit older than the Chilean, but it was easier for people to estimate his age for he looked to be in his early 60's. His facial features consisted of a whiting goatee as the hair around his mouth was mostly white with a few darker strands of hair. He didn't have any hair on top of his head due to his old age. He wasn't dressed as formal as the Chilean man for he wore a blue dress shirt under his black sweater, which would actually go better with his dark brown dress pants he wore along with his black dress shoes. Despite his advance age, the Chilean businessman knows that his American associate is a very capable man, so capable that he would prefer him around than having multiple associates with him for he has acquired very special skills as the years went by. The elderly, American man had an Albuquerque newspaper in his left hand, folded up. He spent spend the majority of his time reading the newspaper instead of playing on his phone like what most other people would have done. He managed to get through half of it, and is planning on saving the rest of the stories of a later time because he doesn't plan on reading Japanese newspaper during his time in Japan. He placed his folded-up newspaper in his back pocket, and started to draw closer to the Chilean business man, but he did not say anything. Both of them didn't say anything to each other. They didn't need to communicate for the old man knew what the Chilean businessman, his boss, wanted. Both of them just stood where they were, looking around the airport, watching the passengers and the natives go on with their business. The Chilean businessman continued to adjust his tie, seemingly out of habit before striking up a conversation with his employee.

"How was your flight?" He asked out of consideration for they didn't sit together on the flight. Even if the passengers on the plane didn't not know the two individuals, He still took precautions for the sake of his company, his empire, and sitting away from his employee was one of them.

"Wasn't much different than driving through the New Mexico desert. Course, I could have been better if I had more comfortable space." the elderly man responded, looking towards the window, making it look like they were not talking with each other.

"I see. I will make better arrangement for the trip back." The Chilean endeavored to ameliorate the situation.

"Don't trouble yourself. I have been on worse rides than this." He responded, remembering the countless number of times he has had to drive through the New Mexico desert to complete certain task for his boss.

Both men proceeded to walk through the airport, staying a healthy distance away from each other as to not draw more attention. They both maintain a solid distance of twenty feet from each other. Both of them didn't stop for anything that was in the airport. They didn't need to bring any luggage for this flight for they already have the luggage they need in a very special location that the Chilean businessman had prepared in advance. Eventually, the Chillan businessman exited the airport terminal from the front. He stopped right in front of the sidewalk where people drop off others and go part somewhere else. During his quick sweep of his surroundings, his eyes were left to shift towards a young, beautiful, twenty-year-old girl walking along the sidewalk, having a phone conversation with a friend as far as he knows. She didn't look to be paying too much attention towards her surroundings, resulting in her bumping into the Chilean businessman and being knock on the floor on her bottom along with dropping her phone on the pavement. She winced in pain as she began rub her impacted area while closing her eyes. It was when she started to open her eyes that she was greeted with an extended hand in front of her. Looking to see who it belonged to, her gaze shifted up, seeing the Chilean businessman, offer his help with a quiet low-key smile. She sort looked away and blushed a bit due to the businessman's chivalry before she offered her hand by placing it in his hand. Once back on her feet, the businessman looked off to the pavement, noticing the phone lying on the floor. He knelt down to retrieve it and offered it to her. She found it surprising that her phone took no damage from such a fall without receiving a crack.

"I'm sorry!" She apologies profusely as she bowed multiple times. The business man gave her a small smile.

"Don't trouble yourself. I should be the one asking you if you are hurt." He responded in her language, shocking the girl for she didn't expect for the Chilean businessman to speak Japanese so fluently. From there, the girl reaffirmed him that she was fine before disengaging from their short conversation and headed into the airport. He waited a few seconds until his small, quiet smile faded away, adopting a stern and serious expression before returing his attention towards the view in front of him. Right as she entered the airport, the elderly man with the businessman exited. He witnessed the entire ordeal, but decided to wait a while to let their conversation end. The elderly man began to approach his boss, reaching the area just behind his left shoulder. The businessman didn't turn around at all to acknowledge his worker. Instead, he continued to stare out into the parking lot as the elderly man was focus in another area. Silence reigned in for a few moments before the elderly man took the initiative to start the second conversation.

"Now that we are in the Land of the Rising Sun, is there anything that you need me to do?" he asked. The businessman waited before responding. He kept his gaze on the parking lot before he returned an answer.

"Now is as good as time as ever." He said to himself. "Michael, why don't you pay a visit to _our special associate._ Now that we are in Japan, we can keep tabs on her for future reference until we leave." He recommended to the elderly man named Michael. Michael didn't have to ask twice as to who his boss meant. It has been a while since Michael has last spoken with her. Last time they spoke, it was not on the friendliest of terms, but then again, he doesn't believe that they were friends to begin with, and she probably thought the same. After all, her knowing about their entire operation was a mistake, but his boss saw it differently. Upon hearing his request, Michael walked out towards the parking lot, giving no verbal response to his boss's order. He didn't need to; the very act of him physically moving was confirmation enough to the businessman that Michael was on it. It doesn't matter where the person is. Whether the person was in Japan, America, or any other place in the world, Michael knows just how to track someone down.

* * *

Haruno Yukinoshita increased her walking pace the moment she was out Yukino's, Hikigaya's, and Yuigahama's sight, keeping a smile on her face. Due to the position she has in the family, she was always the spokesperson, always meeting with family associates and putting on a show for them by keeping up her facade, so smiling when it was not necessary had become second nature to her. Having such a task for her family was important, but she has found it to be boring as she continued to do this for her family. However, right now, boredom was the last thing she was feeling this instant. It seems that a new development has happened within her everyday life that ignoring it was impossible. It wasn't because she wanted to, but both parties wouldn't allow it. The reason why she found this new development interesting because she was experiencing something she has not felt in such a long time. Rather, she did cause this feeling to well up within Yukino, Hikigaya, and Yuigahama. She has to admit, this feeling was interesting to her as she felt the harsh adrenaline flow throughout her body, even if the current situation at hand was least desirable for her so to speak. She would have never expected to actually find him here in Japan, waiting on a bench reading some newspaper; she thought that she would never have to see him again, so long as she kept that promise she made with them years prior. For him just to sit there like an ordinary person reading a newspaper was not a coincidence. This is how they dealt with matters whenever they wanted something. He didn't have to leave an actual note or send a text message to get the idea across. The moment she saw him was all that she needed to know what exactly he wanted from her.

 _He wanted to talk._

Disregarding the obvious message for her, Haruno, being the skillful person she was, ended up doing something that gave too much away for that momentary second of bewilderment was enough for Hikigaya and Yukino to pick up on. She doubts that Yuigahama picked up on it, but seeing that she is with Yukino and Hikigaya, she will undoubtedly play a factor in this. She was not oblivious to that fact that Hikigaya looked around to find what could have possibly caused Haruno to stumble like that. She doubts that he would ever find the source, but then again, one of the reason why she finds him so interesting is for his uncanny ability to notice the subtle, whether in a person's psychology or the material world. She didn't need to think about this too much because the person was an expert of hiding in plain sight. Nobody would ever think twice as to what he was doing there. The best somebody who doesn't know him can guess was that he was on vacation and was waiting for somebody.

In regards to wanting to talk, Haruno knew a decent place to have a conversation. Being out in public was out of the question; she needed somewhere where the general public was absent. There was an unspoked expectation for her to find the meeting place for them to talk. Haruno knew this the moment she exchanged eye contact with him. This is why she had to leave her sister and her friends. She had a completely different agenda for them, but the appearance of him has completely changed it as new priorities have established themselves that are well above meeting with Yukino and Hikigaya.

If there was anything else that he knew about him, it was that he was following her from a healthy distance so people wouldn't get any weird ideas. One of his skills also he has acquired was following others without being noticed. She remembers seeing him in action, which is why Haruno knew about his useful skill for it was required in his line of work.

As for the meeting place, it came as luck that her family gives this mall a donation every year and has allowed her to access areas of the mall that was otherwise inaccessible to the general public. She kept up her accelerated pace, passing through multiple stores, ignoring the mall shoppers as she weaved through the crowds while also saying hello and waving at them to those who recognized her as the spokesmen of the Yukinoshita's. The area in mind that she was heading to was located right next to the bathroom, which are a considerable distance from where Hikigaya, Yukino, and Yuigahama were locate. When she turned the corner, she saw the bathrooms in sight, and located right to the of the men's bathroom was a long hallway. In this part of the mall, there wasn't as many mall shoppers compared to the rest for the mall, making it a bit easier for Haruno to go to her destination with little notice. She walked passed the girls bathroom, passed the men's bathroom, and turned in the hallway. The hallway was rather long with many other doorways leading to other rooms, stairways to different floors, employee lounges, etc., but the room of interest was located at the very end of the hallway on the left. She began her journey in the hallway as the echoes of her high-heels systematically ringed through the hallway with each step. Reaching the end of the hallway, she was confronted with a big, red, metallic door with a metal door handle. On the door was a sign that only read, "Storage." She placed her hand on the door and looked down the hallway. She didn't see anybody pass by, meaning that he is still a bit behind, but she wasn't worried. He is not the type of person to lose people that easily. She turned back towards the door and slowly applied a force to turn the door handle. Once all the way down, she opened it very slowly, creating a creaking sound the more the door opened.

The room itself lied in complete darkness, not being able to see three feet in front of her. She extended her hand to the left, feeling around until she found the light switch and flicked it up. One of the first things that the room needed was more light functioning lights for only a single light lit up upon flicking the switch while the other lights didn't bother to spark. The light that did light up was located right in the center of the room. From what the light unveiled, the storage room was unnecessarily big. At least, that was the impression as the light quickly faded after traveling 5 feet from the center before it petered out. Even the light from outside the room still wasn't enough to light up the room as the edge of the room still remained in darkness, producing a sensation of openness as it looked like there was no walls for they blended into the darkness. The storage room was also home to many tall, metal racks all scattered about the room in a haphazard manner as organization was clearly absent. These racks were also cluttered together, giving off a sense of claustrophobia. The items on the racks were nothing special as they only had duct tape, hardware tools, nuts, bolts, boxes of restriction tape, label makers, box cutters, and other items. She slowly entered the storage room, letting the door close behind her until the room was immersed in darkness, save for the single light bulb that provided light towards the center. Looking at the opposite wall, she could vividly see light seeping through the outlines of a rectangle, suggesting that there is another entrance to this room.

Anyway, she slowly maneuvered herself towards the middle with the limited light provided, passing multiple racks as she didn't bump into any of them and only became easier the closer she got towards the middle. Conveniently, only the surrounding area had racks whereas the middle where the light was didn't have any. It wasn't long after she got to the middle that the sounds of a doorknob jiggling came from where she entered. The door creaked open, revealing a figure at the doorway standing ominously as the light from the outside silhouetted his entire body. Haruno couldn't see any characteristics of the figure, but she already knew just by looking at the overall figure who is was. The silhouetted figure remained at the doorway, meticulously analyzing the room and its inhabitants. There were few things he noticed. The room was in complete disarray, but nothing too important. The only thing that did stick out to the figure was the quiet, hollow smile that can be found on Haruno's face. He made an audible sigh as if he has seen it before and was quite sick of it. He moved his neck around to stretch it out before he entered the storage room, navigating around the racks with minimum effort compared to Haruno. The door closed soon after, placing the two inhabitants in almost darkness save for the single light that provided sight. More features of the silhouetted figure began to unveil itself as drew closer towards the middle, taking note of the aging goatee and wrinkled skin along with his semi-formal apparel. Once he reached the middle of the room, standing a few feet from Haruno, silence still provided the area and neither side wanted to initiate a conversation. Haruno had her arms crossed, still having her smile, staring at him with a false sense of mirth in her eyes. The elderly man was not bothered by her ploy at all. Much like Hikigaya, he found her smile and her demeanor annoying, disgusting, and fake. He stared back at her with a stern, unmotivated face. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of getting a reaction from him for surely that would have given Haruno the upper hand. She always tried to take control of the conversation, but he was not going to allow her for. She has attempted in the past before and it always bothered him that she would, but he would remain vigilant and refuse to play into her hands. Haruno knew that the person in front of her would not budge. She would be unable to toy with him unlike a certain dead-eyed person. Like Hikigaya, the person in front had no interest in keeping up social appearance or social obligations, but the reason as to why these two don't care are different. More specifically for the figure, it was so he doesn't draw unnecessary attention, especially with law enforcement. Behind his unmotivated face along with his dead, uncaring eyes lied a tactical, cunning person waiting for her to make the first move. A sense of impatience began to build between the two. Both knew that whoever spoke out first immediately lost the advantage with the impending conversation. Haruno had no intent of starting it, which is why she does not like the next thing she does.

"It has been a while, Mike-san." She started out in a calm voice that masqueraded the disdained and irritation that she was truly feeling for caving. Michael "Mike" Ehrmantraut gazed at the smiling Haruno, unfazed by her fake joy in her voice. _This girl_ … he thought in his head. Mike has worked with many unique character ranging from a charismatic character like Saul to others that are more serious and hostile, but Haruno Yukinoshita was something completely different for Mike. He knows that nobody would ever stand up against her if they knew what would happen. Of course, given his line of work, her ploys would never affect him and he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He never cared about the kind of stuff that Haruno likes to get herself into regarding social matters; he found it more of a hassle, but he has made the observation that the Japanese care more about social matter compared to the Americans. He looked off to the side, giving another audible sigh to show his disapproval and disappointed before reengaging eye contact with Haruno.

"Kid, would you mind ditching the smile? I feels like I am talking to a salesman here." He requested in an exhausted tone, giving the impression that it wasn't the first time he has asked her for that, but Haruno kept up her smile, her facade, albeit a slight irritation building up in her for she doesn't like it when Mike, or anyone in fact, to refer to her as "kid," even if he was 40 years older than her. She found it insulting, and insulting her would wind the perpetrator in a world of social hell. But she kept her calm demeanor up. There wasn't much she can do to Mike to punish him for calling her that, but as the saying goes, an elephant never forgets. She brought her right index finger up to her bottom lip and placed it there, slightly tilting her head towards the right.

"Whatever do you mean?" She asked in a mock playful tone, feigning ignorance, but Mike was not having any of it for he kept his cold, dead stare on her without falter, screaming at her with his eyes to cut the act as he remained where he was in silence. She knows him better than that given the time they have known each other and knows that Mike does not deal with tomfoolery. In other words, she asked a stupid question. The unnerving silence still existed in the storage room as Mike was not going to debase himself in answering her question.

"Don't you know its rude not to answer a girl's question, not to mention giving a girl such a killer glare like that." She playfully informed him while pouting at him.

Mike was starting to become irritated with her.

"Kid, I just got off a fifteen-hour flight, and as you can imagine, my patience is running thin. Why don't you cut the act before things become more complicated than it needs to be?" he warned her with thunder behind his calm words. Haruno knew what Mike was capable of doing. The people she knew that would endeavor to make a hollow threat would never bother her for she knew that they were liars and cowards, but if there was one thing that she definitely knew about Mike: He always kept his word because Mike never makes threats; he makes promises. Her smile began to deconstruct and unwind as her facial expression became blank, her eyes becoming piercing and cold much like Mike's. Losing would be more strategic than trying to win against Mike because winning might involve pain in the future, not social emotional things like the kids in high school go through, but physical pain, which made losing more appealing than winning. Though she did have martial arts experience, Mike proved to be the better combatant in regards to his line of work.

Haruno hates that idea of losing to anybody.

"You know, its rude to threaten a girl. People just might make you out to be a monster." She added in, adopting an emotionless expression as she took one last stab at him with no feelings, whether genuine or not, behind her words.

"Talk about the complete one-eighty, but it's better than talking with that persona you put on."

"What do you want?" Haruno questioned with venom in her voice.

"Not much really. Just here to see what you have been up to is all." He explained.

"What are you doing here in Japan then?" she asked.

"Wasn't my call to come to Japan. It seems that our product has manage to find some overseas success, specifically in the Chiba area. And now, we are trying to expand by meeting with new clientele." Mike informed her.

"Wait, you don't mean…"

"That's right. The boss is here in Japan. Call it a courtesy greeting if you want, but the boss sent me here to check up on you. Apparently, he still has some reservations about you after all these years." Haruno was always searching for something interesting because everything she does eventually becomes boring if she dabbles around with the same person for too long. It happened to Hayama, but right now, she doesn't think she will ever become bored with this because matter pertaining to Mike and his associates will always be interesting, no matter the circumstances. The word "interesting" was being used lightly in these circumstances. She wasn't dealing with regular social matters that a lot of people care about. This was one reason why she found Hikigaya so interesting because of his disregard for social norms. That alone caused her to take a keen interest in him for he possessed insights from his twisted mind that she forcefully wanted to dissect. But the current situation was something different. It didn't involve anything regarding social norms and twisted personalities that possessed insight. No, instead, matters regarding this are interesting because they don't involve anything that has to do with social status or social awareness. Mike and his associates have no need to dabble with such trifling matters for they were in something elevated, something that doesn't emphasize social matters, but emphasize business. Though she never liked to get into her family's matters regarding business other than meeting with partners of the Yukinoshita's, the business Mike was in was far more interesting than anything her family would ever be involved. Social status and social matters didn't influence the business negotiations in Mike's line of work. The only thing that social matters would really have an effect in Mike's business is respect. As long as you had respect, then everything else would run smoothly; no need to make courtesy calls, check up on partners, nothing. As long as one showed respect, then dealings and business would run smoothly. Haruno has already thought about this a couple of years ago. There were times where she thought about it after, but not much for those thoughts never related to anything she has done after that time, but seeing Mike again after all those years has rekindled that thought process, and it seemed that she has found an alternative for "interesting." Interesting did work, but the more appropriate word to fit this sense to perfectly describe the atmosphere in this storage room was "dangerous" because when things are dangerous, there is never a dull moment, and dull moments is what Haruno is always trying to avoid.

Haruno began to form yet another smile as she was about to speak up but was interrupted by an outside noise resonating from behind her. She turned around and saw light shining through as the door that she didn't go through began to open. Standing right at the entrance was yet another ominous silhouetted figure. Few moments passed by before the figure entered the room, walking passed all the racks as he made his way towards the center. She only expected to see Mike, so she had no idea as to who this other person was, prompting her to look over towards Mike. The look he gave told her immediately that Mike knew who is was.

 _Mike-san knows who the person that came in is._

Though she would never show this side to her sister of any of her friends, Haruno kept her demeanor, albeit the smile she had instantly disappeared. If she could show it, her eyes' would have widened upon the discovery of the person's identity. She began to feel like Hikigaya every time he met with her… cautious. She looked over at Mike, but something told her to look over at the other person for he was commanding attention.

"…Gus-san…" she quietly uttered in disbelief for she never thought she would meet with him again. She only thought that she would meet with Mike or somebody else sent by Gus, but never would she have thought she would meet with Gus again.

"Haruno Yukinoshita, it has been a while since our last encounter." Gus pointed out in a monotone, professional voice, showing no emotion whatsoever as he is well known for keeping a calm-but-unnerving demeanor. Gustavo "Gus" Fring kept his focus on Haruno. His stare showed no emotion as they only analyzed Haruno, who was staring back at him with a blank expression. If she would have given the expression to somebody else, it would have shaken that person to the core. Just getting a different expression other than her fictitious smile was enough to cause concern for Hikigaya. However, her gaze did not produce those result with Gus. Getting anything out of Gus would prove too far fetch.

Haruno has always been in command of conversations she has with others. She finds is amusing to watching Hikigaya endeavor to take control—one of the reason why she finds him interesting. Haruno liked challenges because they did bring some sort of excitement, but now, the challenge she has in front of her will prove difficult to take control of the conversation. Because of this, she does not attempt to put on her façade; she knows it will not work on Gus. He will not stand for her meddling, she knew it. Putting herself in a social awareness set of mind, she has to proceed with caution.

"Haruno, you seemed troubled. How can I help you?" he asked as he noticed the change of demeanor in Haruno even though her blank facial expression hasn't changed. Haruno remained silent, starring at him with her piercing, emotionless eyes that would have most-definitely shocked Hikigaya. A cold, silence remained in the storage room. Nothing can be heard except for the sounds of the outside world barely slipping through the walls. Haruno kept her stance as she faced her silent assailment as both exchanged blows with each other using nothing more than their eyes. Mike would remain where he was with his clasped together, waiting patiently for the two of them to hash out what they needed to. He would occasionally glance back to the door both he and Haruno entered through. Going back to the stare-down, both remained vigilant, until the sound of a voice rippled through the room.

"If you do not want to share your troubles, then it was fine by me. In any case, what have you been up to lately. I hear that you plan to obtain a BS through a national University." Gus broke the silence, giving a small victory over to Haruno, though there was still some concern as to how he knew about her future plans.

"I make it a point of interest to learn of all of my associates' activities, and that includes you, even if the circumstances surrounding our agreement are… unique." He explained, looking over at Mike towards the end of the sentence, confirming Haruno's suspicions about how he obtained that information, but she wasn't surprised. She knew what Mike was capable of obtaining personal information; he probably would obtain her medical records if Gus demanded them.

Whenever matters involve Gus, there was always a constant, always a matter that will never change. The situation and the circumstances will always be interesting. This is due to one thing.

Gus was an interesting person.

He was nothing like Hikigaya, but there still loomed a sense of interest around him. It might be because Gus is dangerous, and danger tends to be interesting if handled in certain quantities. But with Gus, there is no telling just how much danger he brings to the table when he just stands there with professionalism and silence looming from him.

"I didn't know that you'd keep tabs on a woman like me." she pointed out without giving a smile. "Who would have thought Gus-san would go out of his way just to meet me? I probably should feel honored. Tell me, am I part of your business that you need to do in Japan?" she asked as she crossed her arms. Gus was not amused by her statement. As a matter of fact, he didn't like it one bit. He took two steps closer to Haruno, building up a sense of silent intimidation as his presence alone was intimidation enough. It was only when he remained silent that Gus can seem scary, and judging by the lack of talk and only allowing his body movements to speak for him, he might as well be fear itself. He looked down at Haruno, and she kept her eye contact on him.

"Haruno, I always have business to attend to. It doesn't matter when or where. You will always remain a business priority for as long as your lungs are filled with air." He took one step closer. "However, the business I have with you is not desired. Your background may have been the reason why I was forced to handle the situation much differently, but we are not in Albuquerque anymore." He took another step closer. "However, the original agreement still stands. Understand your place in the grand scheme of things, Haruno. Me entiendes?" he asked, switching to Spanish at the very end in a very serious tone. She remained silent.

"Me entiendes?" he repeated himself more forcefully.

"…Te entiendo, Gus-san." She answered.

The tension remained even after getting confirmation from her. With his business concluded with Haruno for now, he had no more reason to be here. He kept eye contact with her until he passed her, making his way towards the door he entered through. He opened the door up, letting light seep into the storage room as he became a silhouetted figure once more. He stopped right in front of the door frame and turned towards Haruno.

"Continue with your usual affairs, Haruno Yukinoshita." He suggested ominously before walking out of Haruno and Mike's sights as the door closed on them, leaving the two alone in the storage room. Haruno found herself to smile mischievously once more the moment after Gus left the area.

"Well that could have gone better than I expected. I don't know if you're brave or just that stupid." Mike informed her, walking up to a rack, observing the content on it.

"Mike-san, it is not nice to call a girl names. You should know how to treat a women better." She advised him as she started to walk up to him, but stopping short about three feet from him. Mike stopped examining the contents on the rack and turned to face Haruno.

"Hmmm, is that so? You know, in America, a person is considered an adult at the age of 18 as opposed to 20 in Japan. As far as I'm concerned, you are a fully grown woman as far as the American government is concerned, and a cocky one at that. Consider yourself lucky that Fring doesn't hold your actions against you. He is not the type of person to forgive that easily" Mike explained.

"Doesn't forgive that easily. That sounds sort of like him. He wouldn't be interesting if he forgave people that easily wouldn't you say?" She asked, drawing a bit closer to Mike. "Mike-san, Do you always do what you are told? Do you ever make your own decisions, or do you let Gus-san make them for you?" She prodded at him. Mike grunted and confronted her, standing right in front of her, looking down at her.

"Look, you may be Frane Selek when it comes to Fring, but that doesn't mean that luck applies to me. You are on thin ice as far as I'm concern; You have been on thin ice ever since you made that deal with Fring in Albuquerque years ago. I don't know what Fring was thinking, and I don't plan on questioning him about it. I just do what I am told; that is my job. That also applies to you too. As long as you keep to what the deal entailed, you won't have any problems with Fring, and you won't have any problems with me." Mike explained in a harsh tone as he was tired of her antics. Haruno can clearly see that she was getting under his skin; evoking such a reaction from him was sort of fun for her, but his state of mind still remained intact. If this was her sister, then things would have become a bit more interesting for her. Seeing her come to a brick wall was always interesting for Haruno. However, she still has to remember that Mike does have a limit before he decided to take physical action.

"Mike-san, I am perfectly aware of what I agreed to." She whispered into his ear in a mischievous voice before backing up to about an arm's length away.

"I am also aware of the consequences if I break that agreement."

"Remind me again what would happen if you break that agreement." He inquired.

"The mind does start to go as you get older, but that can't be helped." She smiled at him, once again drawing real close to him. "If I break the agreement, then I get a bullet to the head." She answered with no warmth behind her words, not even a fake happy tone to mask the truth in her answer. She stepped back, looking at him with coldness in her eyes, even though her expression exploited mirth. The atmosphere began to soften as everything that needed to be said was said, but they kept eye contact with each other.

"It looks like I overstayed my welcome. Besides, it is starting to get boring anyway." With nothing more for them to talk about, Haruno began to walk towards the door she entered, but Mike suddenly blockaded her path, signifying to her that she should leave from the other exit. She would oblige him this time and do what he said with his action. She began to make her way towards the door Gus took. She opened in, but remained in the door frame. Without turning around, she asked one more thing before she left.

"Mike-san, will I be seeing you again?" Mike didn't say anything, but that was answer enough for her.

"I see. Until next time…" she finished before disappearing from the door frame. With Mike now by himself, he waited for a few moments, taking a deep breath and sighing once more for the predicament he found himself in. He began to head towards the door he came through without making too much noise for he doesn't want to alert the interlopers of his awareness. He placed his hand on the handle and hesitated before opening the door. He felt a resistance on the door in the form of three bodies, but he easily overcame it has he applied more force. He heard the sounds of stumbling and gasping as he pushed forward. With him now in the hallway, he cast his eyes on three individuals with one of them on the floor. There were two girls and one guy and they were all in their adolescence, about sixteen or seventeen as far as Mike and tell. The first girl he took notice was the one on the floor as the second girl came to her aid. The girl on the floor had short, pink hair with one side having her hair tied up. She wore some sort of T-shirt with some capris shorts with pink sneakers on. She looked rather afraid as she looked up at him seeing that he was responsible for pushing her on the floor, but it served her right for eavesdropping. The second person was the teenage boy. He looked to be of about average build with short black hair, but the characteristics that stood out the most was the single strand of hair sticking up along with his fish dead-eyes. He wore a green sweater with light-brown pants with black shoes. He wasn't the most fashionable person within the three, but Mike could respect his bland apparel. However, the one person that Mike took more interest than the rest was the second girl within the group. She had flowing, black hair with sky-blue eyes. Her wardrobe consisted of a long dress with some sort of shirt covering her shoulders along with black opened-toed shoes. Most would be stunned by her beauty, but the thing that interested Mike the most was her resembles to Haruno. The moment he laid his eyes on her, he could instantly tell who this person was. Mike watched the three interlopers as Yukino helped Yui up while Hikigaya kept his gaze on Mike, weary of his appearance. Mike grunted for he didn't want to be in such a situation where he was with Haruno's younger sister and her friends. It should be mentioned that Gus has asked Mike to look into all of the Yukinoshita's before coming to Japan. Gus felt that it would come in handy if there was any situation that would come up, and certainly this would qualify as one. Regardless, Mike has no reason to talk with them, but it seems that they have reason to talk to him.

"You three are not as sneaky as you think you are. Especially when it comes to following somebody." He revealed as Mike was aware that the three of them followed him. All three of them exchanged looks with each other, trying to find some sort of excuse as to why they were but,

"What?! No. We weren't following you. We were, like, trying to find the bathroom, and we sort of got lost, heh, heh, heh." Yui exclaimed, obviously being the first thing that came to her mind. She looked at Mike, and could easily tell that he was not buying it. He raised his right hand, pointing down the long hallway.

"There is a bathroom out there. Now, if any of you have any more burning excuses, I'm all ears. Otherwise, you are all wasting my time." Mike explained. Yui backed off, but as she did, Yukino was the one to approach Mike with determination and curiosity in her eyes.

"Who are you, and what were you doing with Nee-san?" she got right to the point, her voice cold whenever matters involve her older sister.

"Have you ever heard the saying ignorance is bliss? I suggest you take it to heart. The business between Haruno and me is private, and it doesn't involve you." Mike stated. Yukino took notice that Mike didn't use any sort of formality when addressing her sister. Anybody would have mistaken this as a sign that Mike and Haruno were on good terms, but Yukino knew better. The question that burned in Yukino's mind was how Haruno knew Mike in the first place. He is not some sort of family friend of business associate of the Yukinoshita's. Nonetheless Yukino pressed forward.

"I have heard of that saying, but I do not intend to turn a blind eye to this." Yukino declared to Mike, causing him to sigh as he did not want to be dealing with this.

"Look, Yukino. I just spend the last 15 hours on a plane reading a newspaper, and then I had other business to take care of as soon as we landed. I need my sleep." Mike explained, but he noticed that Yukino's cheeks were turning a very bright red. He looked around and saw the amazement on the pink-haired girl and on the dead-eyed boy, but he didn't look as surprised compared to the two girls.

"Oh yeah. That's right, Japanese people use each other's last names compared to using their first names. You only use their first names if you are on very good terms with them." Mike thought out loud. "Regardless whether you find it embarrassing to call you by your first name, I don't plan on telling any of you about my business and I don't want to know yours." With that, Mike started to walk down the hallway until,

"Wait, how did you know Yukinoshita's first name." The guy of the group asked, causing Mike to turn around to address him.

"How do you think. I got it from Haruno. Now if you excuse me…"

"What did you talk about with Yukinoshita's older sister?" the guy asked again for Yukino. Mike once again gave an audible sigh.

"Look, kid, if you really want to know, why don't you ask her, but I doubt she'll tell you anything. You of all people should know that, Yukino." He explained as he shifted his eyes toward Yukino, causing her to avert her eyes away from his as he used her first name again. All three of them couldn't think of a reason to get Mike to spill the beams. Plus, Hikigaya, Yui, and Yukino all felt that Mike was somebody that they shouldn't continue to prod. They can't explain it well, but they felt that they shouldn't continue to ask Mike questions. To Hikigaya, this feeling felt similar to when he is with Haruno, but unlike her, he felt more threatening, not in a social way like she does, but more of a physical way. Also, the look in his eyes suggest that Mike has seen and done things that they shouldn't know. Overall, there was a looming sense of danger surrounding Mike. With this realization being arrived at, Hikigaya, Yukino, and Yui didn't press more questions onto Mike, allowing him to depart once more, but not before giving them some sound advice.

"Believe me when I say this. You should all just let this go. There is no need for you to all get involved. Think of this as a professional courtesy." This was the last thing he told the three of them before he exited the hallway and entered back into the masses, leaving the three Service Club members alone in the hallway, all pondering as to what had just happened.

"Umm, what did he mean by a professional courtesy?" Yui asked.

"It means that nobody else knows about what he just told us." Hikigaya filled her in.

"Regardless whether this was a courtesy or not, there is still the matter as to why Nee-san met with such a person." Yukino stated.

"Do you plan on talking to her?" Hikigaya asked.

"Yes, I will ask Nee-san about him."

"Yukinon, he said that we should forget it. The way he looked and sounded kind of freaked me out."

"Yes, Yuigahama-san. I have also arrived at the same revelation. Regardless, I still will endeavor to learn more about that man." Yukino explained. All of them then began to walk out of the hallway. Once they reached the end, Hikigaya spoke out.

"Hey, Yukinoshita."

"Yes, what is it, Hikigaya-kun."

"… be careful…"

"Oh… I will take your advice under consideration then."

With that subtle warning, Yui, Yukino, and Hikigaya all returned to the main halls of the mall. They may have not learned anything, but they did gain a newly found sense of curiosity, but there were some reservations with all of them, and the only thing that Hikigaya kept on thinking was,

 _Curiosity killed the cat._

 **And that should rap it up. As far as I'm concern, these will be short stories that the characters from both series find themselves in. Feel free to comment on this fanfic; This is the first time trying my hand at a genre that SNAFU places itself in compared the other stories that I have written (Straight forward).**


	2. A Meeting with an Old Colleague

**Mike and Shizuka Hiratsuka have a drink together**

There weren't too many bars that were to Mike's liking; a lot of the bars he has gone too felt too superficial to him. Mike was not the kind of person to be picky as to where he would get a drink, but being in Japan has made him more… critical about the places he would drink. From the places he has been since his arrival to Japan two days ago, all the bars he has been to in the Chiba area are too flashy; they seem only interested in attracting the young folk, forcing Mike to reconsider where he gets his drinks. Mike prefers an area where there isn't a big crowd of people all huddled up in groups. He was more old fashion and would prefer a place where it is dark, quiet, and sparse of people. There was even the mistake he made when he entered a potential "bar," but it turned out to be some sort of café as he saw minors enter the establishment and order drinks like hot chocolate and orange juice. It took a while, but Mike finally managed to find a discreet bar locate in the northern part of the city. The funny thing about the location was that there was a heavy pedestrians located there, particularly high school students has he saw multiple people wearing the same style of uniform.

With finding a suitable bar, Mike was sitting at one of the booths drinking a shot of whiskey as he watching television. Granted, the Japanese program that was currently on was not to Mike's taste, but there wasn't much he could do as others in the bar were interested in it. What was on was some sort of talk show or interview with some Japanese celebrity or idol that the Japanese people are interested in, but not him. He only watched because that was the only thing he could do while he had his drink. During his mid drinking of his shot, the door opened to a customer, but Mike didn't pay attention to the person until…

"Mike…" A female voice spoke out, prompting Mike to shift his eyes towards the source while barely moving his head.

"Mike Ehrmantraut. My, oh my, It has been a while, hasn't it?" The female acquaintance stated. Recognizing the voice more from his past, he shifted his entire body to give his attention to his female acquaintance.

"Shizuka." Mike stated. "I almost didn't recognize you with that lab coat on." Shizuka Hiratsuka made her way towards Mike, taking a seat in the booth to his right. She raised her and put two fingers up, messaging the bar tender to bring her two drinks. The bar tender did what Hiratsuka requested and poured two cups of whiskey into shot glasses and brought it over to Hiratsuka. Hiratsuka picked up one of the shot glasses and place it in front of Mike.

"This rounds on me." She stated, raising her other drink in the air as she quickly drank the contents down as quickly as possible, exhaling loudly as she felt the burn of the liquor travel down her throat. Mike didn't drink his drink immediately. He instead just watching Hiratsuka drink her drink before staring at his drink as he watched the liquor make waves in response to the outside forces acting on it.

"So Mike, how is life treating you these days? Have you found something that you take pride in." she asked, interested in her acquaintance's response.

"It's going. If you are really interested, I have grown quite fond of my granddaughter. She is my joy and my light. I just hope I get to live long enough to watch her grow up." He answered, keeping his stare at the wall, not turning to face Shizuka.

"Did you say granddaughter/ That means Matty must have gotten married. Lucky him. Whoever married him must be some lucky girl." She shared, though she was a bit strained on the inside. She was truly happy for Mike's son for being able to get married and start a family; however, that also served to increase her insecurity about her own status. If she could, she would be punching the wall and laughing a bit hysterically about his development and is quite jealous of Mike's sun. This thought prompted her to raise her hand, signaling to the bartender to bring her another drink fast, which the bartender happily obliged her as he poured liquor in a shot glass in front of her.

"So how is Matty these days? I hearch he joined the police force with his dad like he always talked about." She continued to make conversation, even though Mike continued to star in front of him without looking at Hiratsuka's way. Mike always seems to have the same expression whenever someone is talking with him, but the way he looked along with some growing sense of melancholy began build up around Mike, causing Hiratsuka to feel a bit uncomfortable and worried for Mike. This prompted her to stop talking for a bit and allow Mike to answer. He was always the one to take his time to answer a question whenever he doesn't really want to either because the answer is already known, or it brings some discomfort. Mike took a deep breath before answering Hiratsuka's question.

"Matty isn't around anymore." Was all that Mike could muster. Hiratsuka easily put together as to what that meant, bring a sense of gloom to her finding out what has happened to her friend.

"Mike… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up some painful memories." Hiratsuka apologized as she swiveled her drink in her hand, feeling guilty for bring up some painful memories for Mike.

"Yeah, Me too." He added in as he raised his shot glass and gulped its contents all the way down, allowing for the liquor to burn his throat for a split second to help alleviate some of the memorable pain he is experiencing with a physical sensation. Hiratsuka could only watch as drank down his whiskey. While she understood what it feels to lose somebody you care about, she couldn't fathom the idea of losing a child before the parents died. She could tell that Mike had a hard time dealing with such a reality. Just seeing the way he drank down his shot gave her the inference that Mike must have drank a lot to help cope with the pain he felt about losing his son. She wanted to comfort Mike in any way that she could, but nothing came to mind. She was in tuned with dealing with young people as she could relate to the troubles they were experiencing, usually with the students under hair care like the students in the Service club, but dealing with a grieving parent… Hiratsuka turned her attention back to her drink as she continued to swivel it in her hand.

"Tell me, Shizuka. Are you still reading those comics that you were heavily in to back in the day?" Mike inquired, wanting to change the subject they were currently on Hiratsuka took the notice and gave him a small smile.

"They are not comics, Mike. They're manga, shounen manga to be more specific. I swear, even after all these years, you still think that comics and manga are still the same." She explained as the mood around them started to lighten up. Mike gave an exhale and shook his head.

"They are all the same to me. But its nice to see that you have a hobby that you enjoy. Almost makes me want to celebrate with another shot. Anyways, what brings you to this side of town at a bar at five in the afternoon. Do you have some sort of date?" He inquired. Hiratsuka could only laugh.

"I had a hard days of work and I need to blow off some steam, especially after a comment one of my students made. Hmpf, serves him right for commenting on my age." She blew off. Mike straightened himself up and turned to face Hiratsuka for the first time since she entered the bar.

"If I remember correctly, you were the type of person to get physical with people if they made you mad."

"You still remember that. Matty must have spoken about the bruises I gave him, but yeah. I did punish that student, but I doubt he will learn anything from that experience." She commented as she formed a fist while showing Mike.

"It's nice to see that you can get away with punishment more in Japan than in America. I still remember the times when teachers were allowed to punish students with 3 feet of wood. Tell me, what is this student like." Mike inquired, a bit intrigued as to how this particular student managed to take a blow from Hiratsuka. From what Mike remembers from his son, Shizuka can throw a punch more than Matty's friends could ever.

"At first glance, you would make the assumption that he was rotten to the core. Always criticizing those around them about the friendships they had as being fake, but deep down, he is actually a caring person. You just have to get past the dead fish-eyes and the nasty personality he has to see the gem under the coal." She explained. Mike took notice at her description of her student, especially the fish-eye part because Mike remembered meeting a boy that fit this description. He could agree with her that he did have dead fish-eyes.

"Actually, he kind of reminds me of you after I think about it." She commented. Mike only grunted at her response.

"To be honest, he is not the only student that has issues. There are more, and I have taken the responsibility to look after all of them." Hiratsuka turned herself forward, facing the wall with the various alcoholic beverages all being showcased.

"It is not like I don't understand their problems. Being young is a troubling time, especially in this time and age where social appearances and friendships matter. These students are all just trying to find things out for themselves, especially the student that I talked to you about. As much as I want to guide them with every fiber of my being, I know that I can't hold their hands forever. Being young is a confusing time, and even if it seems like things will never get better, I want to reaffirm them that everything will be alright. Being a teacher something can be difficult. To watch your students struggle and trying to find themselves… the best I can do is show them the right path and hope they travel down it." Hiratsuka shared her monologue, taking her shot as she finished sharing her thoughts with Mike. Mike sat there and listened to her, taking in every word she spoke. Towards the end of all of it, Mike gave a small exhale of breath and again began to shake his head.

"Being a teacher sounds more tough than being a cop. Trying to show your students that there is light at the end of the tunnel… I don't think I can do that if I were a teacher. Hmpf, I take that back, being a teacher is harder than being a cop." Mike empathized with her, bring a smile to her face hearing him say that.

"Yeah. You are probably right. You are always right in your own way. Hehehe, if you were born later and around my age, I probably would have fallen madly in love with you, Mike." She revealed. "I guess I am really lucky that I got to know you through Matty." Mike remained silent. Both parties remained silent for a considerable amount of time as both watched the program on the television, which happened to be showing some news regarding the financial success of a particular family: The Yukinoshita's. they both remained silent until Hiratsuka decided to start another conversation.

"You never did tell me, what brings you all the way here to Japan. You are not the type of person to take a vacation, especially to a place like Japan?" she questioned.

"I have business to take care of." He answered. She found it quite surprising that Mike gave her a quick response compared to the other response he has given her so far. She found this a bit unsettling because Hiratsuka was a bit aware about the king of business that Mike does. Her smile began to fade away as she turned away from him for a bit before turning back towards him, looking at him with concern and distress.

"Business... If you don't mind my asking, but what kind of business are you doing currently?" She waited for an answer.

"Kid, I think we both know what kind of business I am in." he simply stated.

"Even after I became a woman and make a living for myself, you still call me kid."

"Listen Shizuka, the world is tough out there, and I am just trying to get by. I lived a long life as I outlived my son. Now, I am just trying to affect the people in my life. You may not like it, but I don't really care about your opinion." Mike finished, getting up from his booth and pulling out his wallet. He counted a couple of bills and placed them on the counter while signaling the bartender. The bartender received his message and poured another round and placed it in front of Hiratsuka.

"It's been fun catching up with you, but I have errands to run. Have a drink. It on me this time." She stated as he made his way towards the door, opening it but stopped right in the door frame.

"Before I go, I have to know. What is the name of your student that gave you trouble?" he asked. Hiratsuka took a moment before answering as she felt uncomfortable answering his question, but.

"Hikigaya Hatchiman."

"Hikigaya. I see. Thanks for the drink, Shizuka." He gave a farewell and left the bar, leaving Hiratsuka alone with a drink in front of her. She didn't know what to think about this. She knew that Mike has gotten into questionable business practices over the years but has never learned what he actually does. All that she does know was that he was police officer for years and then just quit. Beyond that, she has heard nothing about him, save for the questionable activities she knows about. Hiratsuka gave a big sigh and raised her shot in the air.

"To Mike." She stated, and drank down the liquor with one big gulp.


	3. My Neighbor is not what I expected

**Saul takes Jesse to his new living quarters during their time in Japan.**

"C'mon Saul, I have been sitting here for like an hour. I am bored as s$ %. Just tell me where you are taking me." Jesse complained once again to the lawyer, who was driving the rental car he had delivered to the airport. Saul tightened his grip around the steering wheel as he heard Jesse yet again complain like some child on a road trip always asking "Are we there yet?"

"Fine! If you really want to know that badly." He exploded as he shook his head in disapproval. "I am taking you to your replacement Shangri-La." He revealed in a different tone than his outburst with his announcement being more joyous than irritation. Jesse looked at him with confusion because he didn't know what he meant by that. "Your pseudo-sanctuary." He tried again, but got nothing from Jesse. Saul gave a very audible exhale before he gave him a direct answer. "God, do I have to spell it out to you? Your temporary home while you are in the Land of the Rising Sun. Jeez, try reading a thesaurus once in a while, kid." Saul explained in a tone that vividly described the irritation he was having with Jesse, but Jesse disregarded his state of irritation as he turned his head towards out the window, watching him and Saul pass through the city with huge amounts of pedestrians enjoying themselves in the city at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Saul Goodman and Jesse Pinkman are not usually the types of people lose their temper that easily from a car ride; anything else is fair game. However, both of them just got off a 15-hour plane ride from America to Japan, but for an unknown reason, their flight was delayed for five hours before they could take off, meaning that their entire trip on the plane was a grand total of 20 hours. To say they were irritated is like calling the kettle black as anybody could visually see the irritation right on their faces. Even after they got off, they spent a good hour trying to navigate the airport and trying to find their rental as the parking lot was unusually full. Not only that, they did also attract a bit of attention. Not so much from Saul as they saw him as some sort of businessman, but from Jesse as he wore a black, leather coat opened from the front, revealing the black shirt he wore with dark-blue jeans and some black shoes. In other words, Jesse was looking kind of shady to the Japanese people. In one instance, some ladies were whispering about him until he turned to face them, causing them to immediately stop whispering and look away as they didn't want to make eye contact with him. Coming back to the car, both of them were still driving along, not really talking to each other until Jesse decided to speak up again.

"Yo, why didn't you just say where we were going? I wouldn't have been bitching to you if you would have just told me you were taking me to some apartment?" Jesse asked as he rolled down the window and began to light up a cigarette.

"Haven't you ever heard that surprises can be magical. I wanted to see the look on your face when I take you to your new place, but I didn't know you would become some kid always asking the same question 10 times in the last 2 minutes." Saul explained using his hand to make some vivid hand gestures to help get the point through to Jesse. It wasn't long before Saul's nose began to pick up on the smell of nicotine coming from his right along with the visible gray smoke clouding his vision. Turing his head to face Jesse, he saw the young meth cook puffing on his newly-lit cigarette. He turned back to face the road and looked over again because he didn't believe it the first time and had to make sure what Jesse was doing.

"What the hell are you doing?! Put that cigarette out now! This is a rental for Christ's sake." Saul reprimanded Jesse.

"What? I can't smoke in the car." He asked for confirmation, almost as if he was dealing with Mike as he had a similar moment with him.

"Not while I am driving this rental car. If it comes back smelling like a bar from the fifties, the rental agency will no dubitably charge me up the wazoo, and I am trying to keep a semi-low profile along with a budget during my time here in Japan." Saul explained. Jesse gave a loud exhaled and shook his head before he put his newly-lit cigarette out and flicked the cigarette out the window. Since he has stopped using the product he makes, Jesse has been smoking more cigarettes to help calm his nerves whenever he starts to feel stress or suffering from withdrawal effects. It wasn't ideal to trade in one bad habit for another, but seeing that it was crystal meth for cigarettes… Jesse is sure that nobody will be complaining, except for now, when Saul, very lively, asked him to put the cigarette out to much of Jesse's disappointment.

"So what makes this place so special that you had to keep it secret from me? Is this place like Willy Wonka's crib or something?" Jesse asked. Saul could only give a joyous smile at his question.

"Better. This place is like middle-class heaven for people like yourself… young and rich. Let's just say that it comes with a view and some of the best security as far front door entrances go." Saul explained, putting emphasize one the door security. "Tell you the truth, this was actually the better of two places. You wouldn't believe the what I had to go through to get you a place like this. I am talking about less-than-legal things in an international sense. I will go on the record and say that you'll be paying a bit extra, but that shouldn't be a problem for a person of your wealth." Saul explained as he made a right turn at the intersection.

"Driving on the left hand side of the road while driving in the right side of the car is weird. Like Ace Ventura weird." He endeavored to make conversation while he rummaging his right hand around looking for something while he kept his eyes on the road. A small amount of mirth came once he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the object in question and unwrapped it with his free hand and chucked it into his mouth, making noisy chewing noises as it was a bit hard at first, but soften as he continued to chew.

"I'm sorry. Do you want one?" Saul muffled as he offered a block of gum in his right hand. Jesse looked at it for a while, but just waved his hand in disapproval.

"I'm good." Jesse replied awkwardly as he returned his gaze back to the car window, looking at the numerous buildings they both passed along with a considerable amount of people passing by. A few minutes passed by, and Jesse was once again starting become impatient. He waited so long that Jesse started to improvise. He took his left pointer finger and started moving his up and down on his lips to keep himself entertained. Once he got bored of that, he mashed his face against the window, making face to those who saw him, which would be a considerable amount of people as they reacted to his goofy face. He tried to keep things quiet so he did not bother Saul while he drove.

Saul noticed, but didn't say anything.

"C'mon Saul, where is this building anyway. We have been traveling for like an hour now?" Jesse broke down once again seeing that an hour had passed. Once they left essentially downtown, to Jesse, it seemed that Saul was lost as he made multiple turns and U-turns. It got to the point where Saul had to pull over and ask directions from a complete stranger walking on the side walk. As it turned out, the stranger happed to be a student of some sort indicated by the uniform he was wearing. Jesse found it a bit surprising that Saul's Japanese was very good; Saul never looked like the type of person to know more than one language with the exception of broken Spanish. After he got the direction, they drove around for another 10 minutes, which prompted Jesse to ask the question about the building's location.

"Keep you S&%$ together, Pinkman. We're here." Saul revealed, bringing a sense of satisfaction to Jesse upon hearing the news. Saul started to slow down to a stop as he moved the car off the road, parking it right in front of the entrance to Jesse's new residence. The building itself was a sky scraper compared to all the other buildings that Jesse saw along the way. This was interesting because the surrounding neighborhood consisted of homes and other buildings that pale in comparison to the sky scraper, which happened to be an apartment complex of sorts. Just the front entrance to this building looked majestic as he gave a sense of prestige and a high-society-feel to it.

"I present to you, Jesse Pinkman, your new apartment. 30 floors of luxurious housing, and you, my friend, get to stay in one of these pristine rooms, courtesy of yours truly." Saul presented to Jesse, who is still gawking at the tall building. "What are you waiting for staring at it? Let's go take a look inside." Saul recommended. Saul was the first to get out of the car before Jesse as he had to look both ways as his seat was oriented towards the road. Jesse started towards the front double automatics doors. He took notice of the intercom system and a key card sliding system located directly on the left of the two automatic double doors. They both walked up to the doors, but nothing happened.

"This is what you call insurance. They just don't let anybody into these kinds of buildings. You either have to have a key card or a person who lives here has to let you in. Fortunately for us, you now live here. All we have to do is get you your key card and you can go in and out as you please." Saul informed Jesse. Saul pushed one button on the intercom system and waited for a response. As soon as he got a response from the front door clerk, Saul started to work her over as he managed to use his persuasive skills that he has learned over the years of being a lawyer. Jesse could tell that Saul was hitting it off as he heard the laughs and giggles coming from the intercom system. Shortly after, a loud buzzing noise echoed, followed by the twin double doors opening up. They both entered the building and immediately headed towards the front desk and obtained Jesse's key card. With the key card secured, Saul and Jesse made their way towards the elevator. They waited about thirty seconds after calling it before the elevator door opened. They entered the elevator, and Saul pushed the 15th floor button. It was during this time that Saul initiated a conversation with Jesse regarding a certain matter with entertainment.

"So tell me, how often do you watch porn?" Saul started up.

"What kind of question is that?" Jesse replied, a bit shocked by that.

"A simple question really because I don't know if you know this, but porn in Japan is quiet readily available. I mean, you can get it in a vending machine if you wanted." Saul informed.

"I will admit that I did look at it before I came here, and from what I can tell, a lot of it happens to be with school girls." He continued. Jesse continued to listen because he didn't know where he was going with this.

"I'm just saying. There are a lot of students that you might come across, and I don't need to find you held up in a jail cell because you wanted to trying something you saw in a porn magazine."

"What the hell is wrong with you? I ain't going to trying anything on people, especially high school girls." Jesse lashed at him.

"You never know. There are cases where that stuff does happen, and I'm not sure what gets you off, but this is just a friendly warning is all."

"A warning for what. Don't try to molest girls. I didn't do it in America, so why in the hell would I do it here?" Jesse did have a point.

"Alright, I'm sorry. It's just you got that look going on, and if you were out at night, some people might be weary of you is all." He explained, but by this point, Jesse started to ignore him. After that conversation, they didn't talk about anything as both men just stood their quietly and allowed the elevator music to play uninterrupted. The elevator did stop one time to allow another person to get on. She herself was a bit hesitant at first to enter seeing that two Americans were on the elevator with one being some sort of businessman and the other not a businessman with his apparel being evidence of this inference. To her, Jesse looked a bit intimidating with all the black he was wearing along with the stare he gave her. She sheepishly entered the elevator and pushed the first floor button. Jesse and Saul could just feel the uncomfortableness oozing out of the girl who looked to be in her early twenties as she shifted her shoulders ever-so-slightly constantly, kept her hands clasped together, and was generally very stiff with her head facing towards the floor. Both Saul and Jesse only looked at each other as Saul's point was being made with this girl. It wasn't until the elevator reached the 15th floor that the girl was able to relax as Jesse and Saul got off the elevator. Upon exiting the elevator, Jesse took note just how spacious and neat the hallway was, taking notice of the alternating mini-bushes in the hallway along with the light-brown walls with no scratch marks on them. It made Jesse feel like he wasn't in an apartment complex but rather in some sort of executive building one might encounter if he one works with the government.

"Just wait until you see your room." Saul hinted as he began to walk down the hallway to his left with Jesse following him a couple of steps back. They made one turn and started looking at the number plates to find Jesse's room.

"1506, 1507…. Ah, here it is! Room 1508. The best room for one of my best clients of Saul Goodman and Associates." Saul announced, taking out the key from his pocket and holding it out in front of Jesse. Jesse put his right hand out, and Saul dropped his key along with the key card in Jesse's hand. He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out two cards and gave them to Jesse.

"What are these?" He questioned.

"Those are train and bus cards. You need a way to get around the city, and if a bunch of high school students could navigate the city without a car, then I am pretty sure you can also." Saul then stepped out the way and motioned Jesse to go ahead and enter his room. Doing what was implied, Jesse inserted the key into the doorknob and twisted it until a "clang" sounded off, giving indication that the door unlocked. He gripped the doorknob and slowly opened the door to his new, temporary home. From what he could see, there was a small hallway with doors before it became into a living room. Immediately as Jesse was about to walk into the house and into the hallway, he felt his right arm being grabbed and violently jerked back. Looking back, the culprit was none other than Saul with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"What the hell, man?!" Jesse retorted in fury.

"What the hell?! Did your mom never teach you basic etiquette?"

"What?!"

"In Japan, you are supposed to take your shoes off before you enter somebody's home." Saul informed him, to which Jesse replied,

"But this is my home; I'm paying for it, remember."

"It doesn't matter if you are paying for it or not. It is a social etiquette to take off your shoes when you enter into a home. It is a good habit to get into because you will get killer glares for walking into homes with your shoes on. It's disrespectful, and the Japanese are all about Respect, with a capital 'R.'" Saul explained, still holding on to Jesse, who was still mad at Saul.

"Besides, what would the neighbors think?"

"Neighbors?" A flabbergasted Jesse repeated.

"Yeah, your neighbors. Think about it. You just got home from a hard days of work, and right as your about to get off the lowered area, one of your neighbors passes by, taking a quick glimpse inside your home, and then she sees you step onto the hard floor with your shoes on. That right there indicates to her that you are an animal with no etiquette. She'll probably tell her friends and bam! Your cover is blown, and you are known as the Jesse No-Respect Pinkman." Saul explained in surprising and creative detail. Jesse only looked on to him with unbelief as that scenario sounds very far-fetch.

"Just take your shoes off." Saul asked one last time with exhaustion in his tone. In the end, Jesse finally complied with him and took off his shoes and set them aside and finally stood on the elevated floor and proceeded to the living room.

"Welcome to your Japanese humble-la-bow." Saul projected.

"Holy crap. You were right; this place is the S %#." Jesse exclaimed as he looked around the living room in awe. The room itself was very spacious due to the lack of furniture occupying it, but it still gave off a sense of professionalism and high-standard-feel to it. The only things that were in the living room was a couch and a coffee table. His eyes were than drawn to the window. He moved the curtain aside, and the view itself was enough Jesse's eye to bug out of his skull. He couldn't believe just how beautiful the city was at dusk as the mixture of artificial light from the city with the half-blue half-orange sky complimented each other. It was a way-better view of the city compared to Albuquerque. He could just stare at the city view for hours, and still be in awe.

"Minus the lack of furniture, this place comes with two bedrooms, each having their own futons, and a single bathroom with an advanced toilet. Never again to you have to take a crap with a cold seat, but rather, taking one like a king." Saul added in. Interested in what he said, Jesse headed towards the bathroom. What he saw was indeed an advance toilet with some sort of button pad to the side of it. His curiosity began to peak and decided to press one random button, causing two water streams to squirt up to where the anus would have been if he would have taken a seat.

"I never would have thought that I would get this excited over a toilet." He shared.

"Tell me about it. It also comes with a built-in seat warmer and other function so you can take a dump with maximum comfort" Saul entered. "The true shocker is that a lot Japanese homes come with toilets like this one, while over in the states, we're all taking dumps like caveman."

"You serious?" Jesse asked

"Do high school student try to get laid on their prom night?" Saul asked, confirming Jesse's suspicions about his statement. Having enough excitement over a single toilet, Jesse decided to inspect the entirety of the apartment. He checked up on the two rooms, and both did have folded-up futon located in the center of the room. He inspected the kitchen, and though there was a lot of food already stocked up, there was, however, a lack of appliances to be found. Overall, the apartment was far more than what Jesse expected, really showing just how much Saul was capable of even outside Albuquerque.

"What do you think? Is this place not royalty material or what?" Saul asked. Jesse, however, was more keenly interested in one other factor that comes with such a prestigious apartment.

"That's great an all, but what's the price on this place? A place like this must run what like in the thousands?" He estimated.

"Nothing you can't afford. You're a million-ere, remember; You can practically afford 10 of these rooms and you'd still have a lot of money left over to rent out the Tokyo Dome. Besides money, they don't just let anybody live here. Take your neighbor for example; the one who lives in Room 1507. She's the daughter of some businessman who practically has money flying out the wazoo. I know this because I had Mike look into your neighbors for… liability reason. Which reminds me, you got to tone down the whole thug life look you got going on. I swear, that girl in the elevator was about to S $% her pants just looking at you. Here's a thought: Try dressing in more colorful clothes instead of the black leather jacket." Saul did have a point. The way Jesse dressed did kind of draw attention to himself because he looks like he would hurt somebody if push comes to shove, and he doesn't need to draw too much attention, especially from the law enforcement. Being an American where 98 percent of the population is Japanese is already enough to deal with; he doesn't need more people looking on at him as some sort of thug. In any case, Jesse continued the conversation with Saul about the apartment.

"So what, this place is for like reserved for rich people with giant sticks up their asses?" Jesse commented, remembering the kind of people his parents were even though they are high middle-class.

"More or less, but it shouldn't be a problem. You are probably not going to talk to them anytime soon, and they might just try to avoid you. In terms of laying low, it seems like a good fit. Nobody is going to expect a meth cook to be living among a bunch of rich students, right. Sure, you might stick out like a black sheep among the students who live here, but at least they'll see you as the foreigner." Saul commented.

"Students?" was the word that Jesse took an interest to.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you? A good bulk of the people who live here are high school students with a couple of college students thrown into the mix. A perfect hiding spot for somebody like you. Hell, maybe you could sell them your product?" Saul joked around, much to Jesse's dissatisfaction.

"What the hell, man?"

"What? You don't like this place."

"Not if it means I have to hide with a bunch of high school students, and there is no way in hell I am going to sell meth to them!" Jesse declared, his voice filled with a rage aimed toward the lawyer.

"Look nobody will ever know that you live here. Sure, you might get a few strange looks from the other people who live here as you come and go, but that is pretty much it. If you don't like this place, then the other place I have is some crappy, run-down building being managed by some old pervert who is into weird stuff. Plus, there is a good chance that you might get stabbed over there. Would you prefer that, getting stabbed or living with students in this apartment?" Saul asked. Jesse thought about it, and to much of his disapproval seeing as he Jesse gnashed his teeth, he wasn't looking to get stabbed any time soon. He has been beaten, almost to the point of death thanks to Tuco, and beaten again by Hank, but never has he been stabbed, and if taking a beating was already bad enough, he is not too thrilled into what being stabbed feels like.

"Fine, whatever. I will live here for the time being." Jesse accepted. The room remained quiet for a while as both men didn't have nothing to talk about. It took a while, but Jesse just thought of something regarding his partner. "So tell me, when is Mr. White arriving? Where is he going to live?"

"As for living arrangements, I got that all figured out. He will be living in this building, 10 floors above you, so you two have your privacy. How I managed that… let's just say, I know a guy who knows a guy. As for his arrival, I'm a little hazy on that. He could be here by tomorrow or in a week. He has to explain to his family why he has to go to Japan for a few weeks. If it were me, I would have just said that there is a science convention or something along those lines. He is a master chemist after all." Saul explained. Jesse simply nodded to his answer and headed to the kitchen as he was starting to get hungry. Saul remained in the Living room, walking around and inspecting the area to see if the people he sent up here did an okay job. As Jesse started to search for food, a thought came to his mind, one that regarded Saul.

"Wait, wait, wait? Just one minute." He said, grabbing Saul's attention. "Aren't you an American Lawyer? What good is an American lawyer in Japan anyway?" he did have a point. As far as Jesse knows, Saul doesn't know anything about Japanese law, so how can he perform legal matters if Jesse or Mr. White were to get in trouble with the law? Who was going to bail them out? Saul only gave a smile to his question as he was expecting Jesse to ask that.

"Way ahead of you. Say hello to Takeo Yuigahama." He said as he pulled up a name from his cell phone. "A couple of years ago, I managed to save his sorry ass from the feds during his time in Albuquerque, so he owes me a few favors, and it just so happens that he himself is a criminal attorney… at least, that is what everybody who he works with think he is. But in reality, He is a lot like me, always trying to find a loop holes in the system to get people off. He is very good at his job, both legally and illegally. But he is so low profile that nobody would ever think twice about him being in a shady business like the one we're in. I just give him a call, and he can take care of anything that comes up… for a price, that is. "Saul explained.

"So what, is he like a Japanese version of yourself." Jesse concluded.

"More or less, but he doesn't have the suave personality like yours truly. Plus, much like Walter, he has a family that he has to worry about with one daughter. I think her name is something like Yui or Yuri. I don't know; I'll have to ask him, but basically, I will be the middle guy for you and Walter when it comes to him." Saul explained. As he spoke about Takeo, Saul started to go through his phone as he just remembered something important. After a few scrolls, he found the person he was looking for as her name was highlighted on his phone.

"What are you doing?" Jesse asked.

"Believe it or not, but You and Walt are not the only clients I have. A couple of years ago, there was this client I had who was visiting Albuquerque for undisclosed reasons. Long story short, she ran into some 'problems,' and she needed my assistance. Since then, outside of you and Walt, she was one of my biggest client at the time." Saul shared.

"One of your biggest. Hmmm, what's her name?" He asked, but Saul shook his head.

"Sorry, Kid. Can't disclose that information to you. Lawyer-Client privilege."

"Okay, so what was she like?"

"That is a tricky question to answer." Saul revealed as he started to walk towards the window, gazing out into the city.

"Tricky as in how?" Jesse prodded.

"It's tricky because her personality is… different." Saul tried to convey. "I guess the best way to describe her is… scary, like Frankenstein scary." Saul concluded.

"Scary as in how? Like she can kick the crap out of you?"

"She may be a female Mr. Miyagi when it comes to beating the crap out of people, but that is not why she is scary. She may seem happy-go-lucky and approachable when you first meet her; any guy would be lucky to have beauty like her to talk to him. In reality, once you get pass that… mask, so to speak, you find out that she is actually Palpatine. You can never be too careful; that's my motto, and it would advise you as your lawyer to be very cautious around her. Hell, she's counting on it. I can't tell how many times I almost S#%& my pants just being around her when she was in Albuquerque. I am telling you, she has X-ray goggles, and she is using them all the time. She is the kind of person who would go the extra mile to crush those she doesn't like. The only person I know that can actually handle her is Mike, but even then, it always feels like she always gets what she wants, no matter the circumstances. She is basically a Mexican standoff. The only difference is that you're holding a gun on yourself while she is holding a gun on you, and it is just a matter of who pulls the trigger, which I am going out on a limb and saying that she would most-probably pull the trigger before you do." Jesse could hear the angst in Saul's voice just describing this person. It was basically clear that you do not want to mess with whoever Saul was talking about because Saul was making her out to sound like a female Gus in a way. To think that there was somebody out there like that with the exception of Gus is mind-bottling. Jesse never would have thought to find somebody like that outside the business he and Mr. White were it.

"Nevertheless, in spite of everything I just told you, she was still a client, and she had the money to finance the services I provide. It is the way of the world like I told you before. You go with the winner, and she is always on top." Saul finished his explanation about his client as he made his way towards the front door.

"Well, I just about overstayed my welcome, but I got other places to be, so I will leave you to it." Saul announced. Jesse in the meantime felt the urge to lit up a cigarette and pulled one out along with his lighter to light it up. Saul put on his shoes when he noticed Jesse was about to light it up. He didn't really care if he lights a smoke up in the room; it was his after all, and he can do whatever he wants so long as he doesn't disturb the neighbors. He grabbed onto the doorknob and turned around the face Jesse to tell him one last thing regarding his stay here in Japan.

"Just to let you in, you and Walt will have some sort of part-time job while you guys are here, so be ready for that." He shared as he was exiting his apartment, but as he did that, he wasn't paying attention in front of him and accidently bumped into a resident. The force he exerted on her was enough to cause her to stumble a bit, but not enough to knock her down as she quickly adjusted her feet to keep her balance.

"Woah, sorry little lady. Didn't see you there." Saul apologized. The girl simply looked up to Saul with a blank expression and said,

"Excuse me." as she continued her way towards her apartment, which happened to be the room right next to Jesse's, Room 1507. As she rummaged through her pockets to get the keys to her place, Jesse moved himself to the doorframe and leaned against it has he took a puff of his cigarette and released the smoke into the hallway. This action caused the girl to look towards Jesse's direction because she did not expect this development to occur and momentarily watched the two strangers interact as the businessman started to talk again.

"Oh, Listen, Pinkman. If there is anything that you need, anything at all…" he clapped his hands together and jumped ever-so-slightly as he relocated his hands the side in an effort to show Jesse his welcoming.

"Better Call Saul." He announced to Jesse, also catching the attention of the neighbor who was still trying to get her keys out of her pockets. She will admit, she was delaying getting her keys out for she was interested to see what the two stranger would do, and as it turns out, the "Better Call Saul" saying would stick with her for the next few days. Jesse remained at the door frame, taking yet another puff from his cigarette and exhaling before turning to his left as he felt a set of eyes were upon him. Sure enough, turning to his left, Jesse made eye contact with his neighbor, who was just standing in front of the door with the key already inserted into the lock. If there was one thing Jesse could describe her as, it would be that she was beautiful. She had long, lushes black hair that ran down all the way to her waist with sky-blue eyes adorning her beautiful face. She was in some sort of uniform as she wore a blazer over a white shirt with a red ribbon tied tie around her neck, indicating that he most-likely came from school. Along with her uniform, she wore a plaid skirt with black, knee-high stockings with shoes of some sort. She was rather and wore some sort of school uniform. She looked to be around 5 foot 5. The looking at her made Jesse think about the garbage Saul said in the elevator, prompting him to shake his head vigorously to get that sort of imagery out of his head. They maintained eye contact for a while before Jesse decided to break the silence.

"Yo…" he said as he flashed a peace sign to her while keeping his cigarette in his mouth. She disengaged eye contact with Jesse and opened her door, entering into the apartment and disappearing from Jesse behind her door, leaving Jesse by himself as his attempt to be friendly with his neighbor went bad as far as he can tell.

"Talk about being a prick." He commented before entering into his own apartment.

* * *

Yukino Yukinoshita exited her apartment room for it was time once again to go to school. Yesterday did prove to be eventful because she had no idea that she got a new neighbor that was American. She really didn't think much of him seeing that he looked to be somebody she will very rarely encounter. Once she left her room, she went down the hallway and momentarily stopped in front of Room 1508, looking at the door before she continued to make her way towards the elevator. She didn't have to wait long before the elevator door opened up. She stepped inside and pushed the ground floor button and waited patiently for the door to shut. During that time, the sounds of someone talking echoed throughout the hallway. She couldn't make out anything at first, so she didn't pay too much attention. It wasn't until the talking grew louder Yukino indicated that somebody was coming her way, and she knew exactly who it was because as the person drew closer, she could make out that the person was speaking English very fluently. As of yesterday, the only person who could fit this description would most likely be her new neighbor. It wasn't long before the door started to close, and she indicated that her neighbor was in some sort of argument seeing that he was speaking in a raised voice. Right about the time the door was about to shut, it started to open once again as her new neighbor appeared behind the elevator door and entered it with her. He looked to the buttons and saw that the first floor button was already pressed, so he positioned himself to the left of Yukino. Yukino did endeavor to give her neighbor the courtesy of not listening into his conversation, but being in such a closed space was not going to make that possible.

"Mr. White! Mr. White! You're not listening! I told you I already did it." Her neighbor screamed into his phone to a person named Mr. White, indicating to Yukino that he was speaking to a social superior. The best guess she could make, seeing his age, is that he was talking to either his boss or a mentor of sort. She reluctantly listened on as she had no other choice thanks to the elevator space allotted to both of them.

"Nah! Nah! Nah! Don't put that on me. I held up my end, and I am still waiting on your fat ass to do your part!" he insulted, shocking Yukino as her neighbor just insulted his social superior. Whoever this person was, it was clear that he was not afraid to express his frustration to those above him. After a few moments of silence…

"Yo, register this!" he yelled as he moved his phone away from his head to give it the middle finger to Mr. White, though he couldn't see it. He brought back his phone to his ear and waited for a response.

"Yeah, that right, I gave you the finger. So what?" He goaded Mr. White. Yukino's neighbor started to pace around in the elevator as he listened to whatever Mr. White was explaining. Finally reaching a boiling point, her neighbor yanked the phone away from his ear and placed in directly in front of his mouth.

"If you're not happy with it, then do it yourself when you get here, bitch!". he exploded as he violently ended his phone conversation.

"Asshole!" he snared one last comment. By this point, he was breathing heavily to calm himself down from the heated argument. He migrated his hands to his face moved them up and over his head to help calm him. It wasn't until a few moments passed that Yukino's neighbor suddenly stood up straight and turned to his left, making eye contact with he as he realized that she listened into his conversation.

"How much of that did you hear?" he questioned her, taking note that his Japanese was very decent.

"Almost the entirety of the conversation." Yukino answered. Her neighbor closed his eyes and rocked his head back in disbelief that she heard almost the entirety of the argument.

"Sorry about that. I didn't realize that you were here."

"Do not worry yourself with such matters regarding myself, but it has dawned on me that you have a lack of spacial awareness when your emotions start to run rampant." She clued him in on this fault she noticed.

"Wow, that some pretty heavy speech you got there. You talk like that to everybody?" Her neighbor inquired of her, noticing the hints of distain towards her for pointing out his fault.

"If you have taken issue with my speech pattern, then that is something I cannot ameliorate." She replied in a calm tone.

"Nah, I got no problem with it. Again, I am sorry about what you heard. If just that the guy you heard me arguing with can be a giant dick sometimes, and I can't help but lose my S%& , you know." He shared with her, though she didn't like the fact that he used such "colorful" vocabulary with a person such as herself. "Anyways. It looks like we're neighbors." He continued.

"It appears so…" She mused with him.

"Name's Jesse. Jesse Pinkman." He introduced himself. Yukino was hesitant at first to reply, but instead decided to continue the conversation.

"…Yukinoshita Yukino. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Pinkman-san." This caused Jesse to wave his hand in disapproval

"Just call me Jesse. No need to refer to me as my last name." he corrected her. Her cheeks started to change into a pinkish white as she was moved her mouth in attempts to call Jesse's name.

"…J-Jesse-san, then." She called him.

"Why are you blushing? Is it because you called me by my first name?" he asked. She looked away from him, answering Jesse's question.

"Oh my god! You are embarrassed. It must be that cultural difference Saul was talking about." He mused as he gave off small laughs at the expense of Yukino's embarrassment.

"If that is the case, then I should call you Yukino then?" he suggested, causing her to blush a bit more.

"I would ask that you would reframe was using my first name, Jesse-san." She requested of him, though she did find it a bit troubling to refer to him by his first name.

"Yo, whatever you say." He agreed with her. Jesse would have liked to continue more with the conversation, but it appeared that they have reached the ground floor. The elevator door opened and both of them stepped out.

"So, you're going to school, right?" he asked as she wore her uniform.

"Yes."

"Okay then, Well, seeing that I am new here, I'm going to go check out the area then. See what I can do." He shared with her.

"If that is the case, then I wish you luck then."

"Same here." They both exited through the automatic double doors and were about to head their separate ways as Jesse turned left and Yukino turned right.

"I will catch you around then, Yukino…" he said, causing Yukino to turn around. "…Shita." He finished before he turned around and walked away from her. Yukino simply returned to her forward position and continued her walk to school.


	4. An Unexpected Date

**With Walt taking his time to get to Japan, Mike has to make some dead-drops, but he is not too thrilled when he has to take some people along with him. He has no problem with Jesse, but it is just the other person who he has issues with.**

The Service Club room was rather unusually quiet for a change, even though the occupants were doing the usual routine with Hikigaya and Yukino burying themselves in a novel and Yui fiddling around on her cell phone. For a few days, this was the tone set within the room for an uneasiness has once again plagued the Service Club members, but unlike before, it was not in regards to themselves, but rather, in regards to one particular person who they dare not say her name for instant depression tend to come when someone utters her name. Haruno Yukinoshita was up to something; that much was clear, but the details were still a mystery. Since their time in mall, they haven't seen Haruno, and the questions they had for her were starting to gnaw at them. The biggest one being the identity of the old man who Haruno had a conversation with. Though they only briefly talked with him, they can definitely say that he was not a normal person. His demeanor and the vibe that clung to him felt unsettling to say the least. In any case, since that time, the three Service Club members have not spoken about that time since then either by coincidence, or, more likely, by choice.

During the time of silence, there were attempts made by Yui to better lighten the mood that established itself by starting up some idle and pointless conversations with the other members, but she quickly found herself not being able to keep the conversation ups, thus ending in failure with each attempt, forcing her to fall silent and withdrawing within herself as she got strange looks from both Yukino and Hikigaya. This was the new normal for the time being until they receive some answers to their questions. The established trance of quiet was soon interrupted when knocks could be heard coming from the entrance door. With Yukino giving the go ahead, the door slid opened, revealing…

"SEEENNNPAAIIII!" Iroha Isshiki hollers at the top of her long as she strolled in, making her way towards Hikigaya.

"Yahallo, Iroha-chan." Yui greeted as she waved at her.

"Good afternoon, Isshiki-san." Yukino followed. Iroha gave both of them a wave, then turned to Hikigaya, hoping for him to give her a hello or a wave, but who instead gave her one quick glance before returning back to his book.

"Jeez, Senpai! You're not going to say hello? Not after I came all this way just to see you?" She revealed, lowering herself to get at eye level with him. This caused Hikigaya to close up his book to give her his attention, though he rested his head on his left hand on the table, giving off a lethargic aroma around him.

"Fine, what the do you want?" he croaked, attracting the attention of his two fellow classmates as they both gave him disapproving looks.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to come here since I don't have anything to do currently." She answered, prompting Hikigaya to question the legitimacy of her statement seeing that Iroha was the student council president.

"What about Student Council President duties? I'm sure that you some duties that demand your attention." He pointed out.

"I have nothing that demands my immediate attention, so I have time." She responded.

"…So procrastination then." Hikigaya jumped to his logical conclusion.

"Senpai, do you really see me as that lazy? I expected more from you, Senpai." she playfully mocked him as she waddled her finger at him like he was some child who has made a mistake. Isshiki began to walk away from Hikigaya, passing over Yui who kept her sight on her as she passed, followed by Yukino who did the same. With both passes, she gave them both a smile before she rushed over to the window, taking in view of the surrounding neighborhood. She scanned the entire area that her eyes could see, taking in the surroundings like the trees and students. Everything seemed normal until her gaze was shifted to the front gates of the school where she spotted a figure just standing in front of the school gates. She didn't have a school uniform on, but she already knew who it was.

"Hey, you guys." She hollered once more to grab everyone's attention. "It's Haruno-san-senpai." Whatever silence that she disrupted immediately returned once more with more distraught as she uttered those two little words. As Iroha turned around, she immediately saw the change that had occurred. She took notice of Hikigaya's surprised expression as his eyes were slightly wider than usual, though he tried not to show it. Yukino seemed to look off to the front of the room, gripping onto her book more forcefully out of discomfort. Yui wore a worried expression as she saw her to friends react to this sudden development of the she-devil arrival. But in the end, all of them shifted their eyes towards Iroha, who redden a bit when all eyes were upon her.

"Isshiki-san, Are you positive about your claim? Is my sister out there?" Yukino question the legitimacy of her claim, hoping for one second that she could be mistaken, but...

"Well… yeah, I mean, I am pretty sure that's her. If you don't believe me, then take a look for yourself." Immediately after Iroha suggested that, Yukino hastily arose from her seat and relocated herself to the window with Yui following from behind. Hikigaya also followed suit and went over to the window as he needed to start preparing for yet another encounter with the social tyrant.

"What is Nee-san doing here?" Yukino question with unsubtlety in her voice, though it was probably more a rhetorical question for herself as she voiced her inner thoughts. "She has not business in being here." This isn't the first time Haruno has decided to come to the school. Due to her status as a graduate from Soubo, she has the ability to come and go as she pleases with no repercussions at all like trespassing. The faculty and the student body knew exactly who she was, and they welcomed her with open arms, but there are only a few who are aware of her true nature, with the Service club being the ones along with Hayama, Iroha, and Hiratsuka-sensei. The last time the Service club saw her was at the mall a few days ago. Memories of that time began to invade Yukino's mind, recollecting everything that had occurred, with the old man being the focal point of her memories. The same could be said for Hikigaya. Though anything involving Haruno would be considered something unforgettable and regrettably the highlight of that particular day, but the old man acquainted with Haruno had taken the cake instead. Since then, Yukino and Hikigaya haven't really seen her since then. Both intended to ask her about that meeting with that man, wanting to know who exactly he was, and what the nature of their relationship, but Both Yukino and Hikigaya wouldn't go actively searching for her; they knew that she would come to them eventually, and eventually was now. They already know why she was here, so asking about the nature of her business here at this school was futile, but it was still surprising nevertheless. All of the individuals in the Service club room watched as Haruno bypassed the front gate and made her way to the front doors of the school. She made it about an eighth of the way there until something grabbed her attention as she stopped and turned around. Looking out towards the rode, the residence of the Service club witness a dark-brown car roll up to the gates of the school. Once it came to a stop, Haruno waved at it joyously with her right up towards the sky.

"Yukinoshita-san, do you recognize that vehicle?" Hikigaya asked.

"I am afraid that I do not. My family would usually send their limo out to pick Nee-san up wherever she is." She answered. They kept watching Haruno as she seemed to have some sort of conversation with the driver. Due to them being on the second floor, the angled of vision seemed to block their view from identifying the driver. They kept watch, and it looked like nothing was happening other than a conversation.

"Hey…" Yui spoke up. "Maybe it's, like, one of her friends or something." She suggested.

"That could be likely." Yukino immediately responded. "However, Nee-san's friends don't tend to come to the school." She explained.

"Besides…" Hikigaya joined in. "Judging by her previous action, it can be likely concluded that she herself didn't know about the vehicle coming here at all, meaning that Yukinoshita-san had no knowledge of the vehicle coming here." Hikigaya added.

"Very observant of you, Hikigaya-kun." Yukino complimented, a rare occurrence in it by itself. "Perhaps those dead-fish eyes have more purpose to them than just scaring off people." She continued as the compliment turned into a back-handed one.

 _Again with the eyes…_ he thought.

"Hey, you guys. Haruno-san is going towards the car!" Yui announced, causing Yukino and Hikigaya to refocus back to the transpiring events. They continued to watch her as she approached the car and opened the back seat, but right as she was about to enter, she took one last look at the school. More specifically, right at them… so it seemed. From where she was, they don't think that she would be able to see any detail other than the general outline of a person and their hair color, but it wouldn't be too far fetch to claim that Haruno knows what room the Service club was located in as she seemed to stare right at them. They couldn't see it well even when they squinted, but to them, they saw Haruno's lips began to curl up. Even if they couldn't see it with clarity, Hikigaya and Yukino both could tell that she did it with intent as the memories of her mischievous smile popped up. In combination with her eyes, it would be enough to shake Hikigaya's foundation, but it seemed that her killer stare and trademark "smile" does seem to falter with distance, most likely because he couldn't see the full details. Seemingly finished, she turned back around and entered the vehicle, closing the door and taking off immediately as the driver accelerated forward aggressively. The residence of the room began to exchange glances with each other as they endeavored to understand the situation.

"What do we do now?" Yui asked, but judging by the looks on everyone's faces, they didn't have any clue on how to proceed.

"We should probably just leave it?" Hikigaya suggested. "Clearly, she has some business that she has to take care of, and I am not the type of person to invade other people's privacy." He further explained his thinking.

"While I do agree with Hikigaya-kun's logic, I cannot, however, dismiss this that easily." Yukino added, surprising Hikigaya with her answer. He thought she would be the type of person to go along with his logic as she is always considerate to those around her… in her own special way, and with regards to Haruno, it would be in her best interest to not actively delve into her affairs seeing that there exists some sort of "dispute" among the sisters.

"I know the type of person Nee-san is, and her recent actions would suggest that there is something else going on that seems to take precedent over us. Wouldn't you agree, Hikigaya-kun?" She followed up with him. He would have to agree with her. From what Hayama has told Hikigaya about Haruno, she was the type of person that would continue to delve in his affairs because she seemed very interested in him, along with the dynamics of the Service club, so watching Haruno walk away from them seemed unlike her, leaving only with the notion that something else is going on, something that she found more interesting than him and the Service club. This should at least be a huge burden off his chest seeing that Haruno was starting to leave him alone, but they don't call Hikigaya cynical for nothing. It just seemed too good to be true after thinking about it. After all, Haruno was like a cat with a mouse, playing with the little rodent until it either she got bored with it or accidently killing it in the process. But from the recent actions, it would likely be concluded that she has found a bigger mouse to toy around with, but…

"You do have a point, but it is unlikely we would be able to figure it out unless we go up to her and ask her ourselves, assuming that she would tell us." He added.

"Hey, you guys!" Iroha interrupted their dialogue. "Stop leaving us out of the conversation! Yui-senpai and I don't really understand what is going on with Haruno-san, but the way you two talk about it just seems… how do I put it… off." She concluded as she fiddled with her fingers. Both of them exchanged looks with each other before they turn their attention back to Yui and Iroha.

"If you are that worried about her, then just give her a call. I am sure that she wouldn't mind." Yui suggested.

 _Better said than done, Yuigahama-san._ The mere thought about calling Haruno out of the blue just seemed unpleasant indicated with the strained expression on Yukino's face. It was already unnerving enough when she calls one of them up, but to actively call her up, to poke the bear that is known as Haruno… all that could be said was that stomachs were turned. But none the less, curiosity can make anybody face the danger if the reward was high enough, and in this case, that rewards was knowledge.

 _Curiosity really did kill the cat._ Hikigaya found himself thinking of this saying once more as he himself was actually considering on doing this action, but ultimately, the decision rested upon Yukino's shoulders. One could see how visually uncomfortable she was just at the mere utterance of the idea of calling her sister up. She tried to hide this distained comfort, but it proved more futile than lying about it with her words.

"Very well…" she uttered quietly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, shifted through her contacts—which only had Yui, Haruno, Hikigaya, her mom, and her dad. Haruno's name was highlighted as her thumb hovered over the name as it looked like she was having second thoughts. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she let her thumb press down on the screen, shifting her phone's screen to show a telephone and raised it to her right ear.

* * *

Haruno arrived at the front gates of the school, feeling a bit tired from the walk. She didn't want to attract too much attention by having the limo drive up to the school and drop her off. Instead, she had the driver drop her off a few blocks away. Apart from the situation she has gotten herself in with regards to the school affairs, the only reason why she would even bother returning to a place where everybody seems to go along with the flow with no changing dynamic whatsoever is due to one club in particular, which host three individuals that she has taken a keen interest in meddling in their affairs, especially one person in particular who she just found interesting. Haruno found it quite a pity that Yukino isn't being as aggressive as Haruno wanted her to be with regards to Hikigaya, giving her all-the-more reason to personally intervene and question the dynamics of the relationship all three of them have. Even after they have reach an answer, it just didn't satisfy Haruno in the slightest, forcing her to throw a wrench in the works, so to speak.

Haruno started to walk forward, passing the front gates towards the front door of the school. Right off the bat, she could tell that she was being watching from afar; exactly what she wanted. She didn't need to turn and face her viewers; it was more of a gut instinct, and her gut has never let her down. She maintained her current course and posture as she headed straight for the door at a walking pace, but seemingly out of nowhere, the screech of a car honking bombarded her ears, causing her to make an unnoticeable jump, and turning around. Looking at the rode, a dark-brown car appeared from the side of the gate. It looked rather old compared to the cars she has seen as it had a sense of age to it. The car itself wasn't what grabbed her attention, but rather, the driver.

"Yahallo! Mike-san." She greeted with much felicity as she raised her right hand high in the air and started waving at him. The moment that she stopped waving was when she took notice that Mike wasn't alone for in the passenger seat was another person. He looked to be around in mid-twenties and American. He had short, brown hair, indicating that he might have gotten a haircut of sort. He wore clothes in the same regard as Mike, but less formal as he wore a black sweater unzipped, revealing a plain red shirt underneath. The person in the passenger seat look directly at Haruno and she back before he shifted his gaze at Mike, asking for some kind of answer just by the way he looked at him. That look alone clued Haruno in that Mike's passenger was not informed about her. Whoever he was, Haruno was sure that he and Mike seemed to have some sort of relationship that goes beyond just being one of Gus's men. Now that she has gotten a general look of the passenger, Haruno started to wonder if he would be a suitable lover for Hiratsuka-sensei. They both do seem to be around the same age with the passenger looking a few years younger. But outside looks, she doesn't know what type of person he was. To Haruno, he was just one of Mike's guys.

"Get in." he grunted, not even bothering to look at her when he said that. Haruno has to play this cool for she knew that the service club is watching her from above, but that wasn't reason enough to spinelessly follow his order. No, she wanted something else from him. She wanted reaction from the man known as Mike.

"What for?" she challenged, not deterring the expression on her face as there was mirth to be found on it, though the reason may be less-than-felicitous. Mike slowly turned his head to face her, his eyes expressing weary and apathy towards her, much like Hikigaya in a way, but unlike Hikigaya, Mike's stare was more… lifeless in a sort of way, like he was desensitized in a way. He didn't look at others the way Hikigaya did, with disgust and disapproval of those around as he would question everybody's motives and relationships. Mike, on the other hand, was more professional and objective compared to Hikigaya, even if the latter would argue that his views are purely objective.

"I'm not going to ask you again." He warned her, with more vibrancy and distain in his voice as it would have shaken somebody. It was clear that he did not want to be dealing with this, with her. Haruno remained where she was, defying Mike's request just to see what he would do.

"…I'm going to give you a choice, Haruno, and think carefully as either choice will be the answer. You either get in the car, or I get out and force you into the back of the trunk." Mike threatened, clearly evident with the deadness in his eyes. She remained where she was as his passenger grabbed him by the bicep in a way to express whether to not Mike was serious. Mike turned to face him, and soon the passenger let him go, answering his passenger's question about his claim. She couldn't see, but she can guess that Mike gave him that signature dead-eyed look. She wanted a reaction, and she was not disappointed.

"Mike-san, are you always this forceful with the girls? Threatening to put them in the truck, have you learned nothing on how to treat women?" She asked in a mock, playful tone, to which he responded,

"I try not to be sexist when it comes to my work." He answered, yet again living up to Haruno's standard she has for him. "So what will it be, Haruno: the truck or the back seat?".

She started to giggle upon his question. "You never cease to amaze me Mike, but if you insist." She complied as she started to head towards the vehicle. The moment she opened the back seat door, she turned around to face the school, more specifically, she looked towards the second floor of a special building, where she witnessed four distinct individuals staring at her as she got into the car. There is no doubt that Yukino will try to ask about this, but right now, there is something that has to be done, and it seems that Mike needs her, or rather, he was ordered to. Nevertheless, she is bound to have an interesting conversation with her younger sister and quite possibly Hikigaya if he decided to stick around for it. She gave them a hollow smile before she turned her back on them and entered the vehicle, finally allowing Mike to drive off to wherever he needed to go.

The passengers inside the vehicle drove along in silence; nobody wanted to speak up because Mike prefers a quiet trip when he has to go across the city. It was already bad that he was running late, and having to take Haruno along with him did not make him happy the slightest. Even after all everything that has happened between Haruno and Mike, he still remains weary of her because she is like an unexpected variable; not knowing when she will come up and ruin everything. He is still trying to rap his brain around why Gus, a man who champions caution and professionalism, would ever consider to have her around? Especially by bring her along with him. The silence remained in the car for the first ten minutes of the drive before Mike's passenger sitting on the left of him finally voiced in his questions.

"So are you going to keep me in the dark and pretend she is not here, or are you going to fill me in?" There was slight pause before Mike answered.

"Nope." With one word, Mike was able to convey what he was feeling: He doesn't want to talk about it. The way he quickly dismissed his question was all that the passenger needed to know about Mike's opinion on the matter. It would be wise for Mike's passenger to give the man some space, relative to being inside a car. Still, he had questions, but Mike wasn't going to tell him anything, leaving his passenger with one option. He grabbed on to the car to give him some leverage so he can turn himself around in his seat, looking back at the female passenger sitting right in the middle of the car, giving a misplaced smile with her arms cross, like she was for him to turn around. Mike's passenger immediately concluded that she was very beautiful, probably the most-beautiful person he has seen since his arrival in Japan. She had short, jet-black, bobbed hair with purple dye towards the end of her hair along with purple, angular eyes. He also took notice of her triangular earing. As for her wardrobe, she wore a white blouse with some sort of red ribbon tied around her neck. In combination with her blouse, she wore a knee-long, dark-blue skirt with brown boots reaching all the way up to her shins. The overall image she established for herself gave off an aura of elegance. Other than her bodily features like her large chest which he would claim to not notice, she seemed to be a vibrant person to Mike's passenger. He did, however, began to notice some of the similarities that she shared with another person who shared the same beauty, albeit she was younger and in high school. The passenger made direct eye contact with her, and she the same. He started to feel a bit odd because the way she looked at him may seem to filled with enjoyment and mirth, but something else was there that he couldn't quite put his finger on it, like there was something cold to her eyes that seemed to be prevalent in her stare. Finally, she decided to break the silence, much to Mike's distain.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Haruno Yukinoshita." She introduced herself in a happy manner that made him think about the high school girls he knew that shared the same bubbly attitude as her.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Jesse Pinkman." He introduced himself back. Before anything else could be exchanged by the two newly-acquainted personages, Mike inserted himself in the conversation.

"Now that we are all friends, I'd like to keep the chatter to a minimum. We are already running late, and I'd like to finish before nightfall." he explained as Jesse looked at the watch in on his, which read 3:30 P.M.

"Where exactly are we going? Are we, like, going to Disneyland or something?" Jesse inquired seeing that whatever Mike needed to do required a large amount of time. Mike looked on to his young passenger before returning his concentration back to the road.

"It is just like back in the desert, kid. We got two places to go, but both locations are on opposite ends of this city; a lot of miles, or in this case, kilometers, between the two locations, and I'd like to finish before it gets dark." Mike explained, taking into account that the metric system so Haruno could understand, not that she needed it. Jesse understood this; he has done it with Mike before being his bodyguard in a sense; however, Jesse looked back, looking at the enigma known as Haruno sitting patiently in the middle before turning back to Mike.

"If that's the case, then why is she here? Is she, like, our backup or something?" he inferred. Jesse will admit that Haruno didn't look capable; she is as girly as they come, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. After all, the first time he met Gus, he seemed to be some sort of restaurant owner before his impression of him instantly shattered when witnessed firsthand exactly what Gus was capable of.

"No." he answered in one word, not satisfying Jesse's curiosity.

"So what, we bring her along because between you and me, it is a complete sausage fest." Jesse guessed, looking back at Haruno, who didn't seem too fazed by his comment about her being the entertainment. As a matter of fact, she actually began to giggle as she placed her right hand over her mouth so she didn't let her laughter escape. Mike simply grunted to Jesse's comment.

"Pinkman-san, you're too funny." She laughed.

"Please, just call me Jesse." He corrected her. She nodded in agreement as she continued to hide her laughter from him.

"If you two are done being Ricky and Lucy, there are other matters that need your immediate attention." Mike interrupted, addressing Haruno.

"And what matters could that be, Mike-san." She questioned.

"For starters, how about you cancel your plans for the rest of the afternoon. Can't have people wondering where you are if you don't show up." Mike suggested. Haruno laughed and shook her head.

"Don't worry yourself about that. I don't have any plans for today." She affirmed him, but he still remained skeptical.

"You sure about that because from what I saw, it seemed that you had some business to attend to at your old school. That is not to mention that you have those four people staring at you from the second floor from that building off to the side." Mike questioned, revealing that he knew about her being watched by the Service Club. Haruno's eyes narrowed upon hearing him say that, and he did catch her doing that through the rearview mirror.

"Those four people are bound to ask questions, so I suggest you straighten things out with them. The last thing weneed is more people knowing about our operation. It is already bad enough that I have to drag you along all over town." If it wasn't already clear to Jesse, it was sure now though that last piece of dialogue. For whatever reason, Mike doesn't like Haruno. Jesse couldn't understand because Haruno seemed to be a felicitous person judging by the last transactions he had with her, so it came as a big mystery why Mike has a distinct enmity towards her. Plus, he wondered about her role in this all for she looks to be the type of person who would never be caught up in the business him and Mike were in. He began to think that maybe she was forced into it by someone, and that someone could be Gus. However, all of this was just speculation, and the only way to know for sure was 1) Ask Gus about her…. That was out of the question, so 2) Ask Mike. The latter seemed like a more logical step to take, but this was Mike he was talking about. The type of person who doesn't clue him in on things at the moment. It was only when something happens that Mike would explain things. However, Jesse's curiosity was peaked, so that left him with no other choice but to ask Mike about her when the time is right, which seemed to be coming up for the sound of a phone ringing flooded the car with its noise. Haruno retrieved her phone from her pocket and checked the caller I.D. A grin came over her face when she noticed that the person who was calling her was none other than her younger sister, Yukino. She can't remember the last time Yukino has called her. Usually, it was she who called her, but even then, when she does call her, it was always met with a less-than-thrilled attitude. She looked up, only to finding Mike's eyes honed in on her from the rearview mirror. He didn't have to say anything for his eyes were essentially screaming, "I told you so." She slid the bar on her screen and brought her phone up to her ear.

"Hello, Yukino-chan. I never would have expected to receive a call from you. What can your big sister do for you." She asked in a very joyous tone.

"Yukino… big sister…" Jesse said to himself, putting the pieces together regarding Yukino and Haruno.

"Nee-san, where are you going?" she asked, getting straight to the point, ignoring the false joy she was trying to persuade her of.

"Whatever do you mean, Yukino-chan?" she replied back, playing the ignorance card.

"You know what I mean, Nee-san. I am aware that you were at the front gates of the school before a mysterious vehicle came and picked you up. I know that our family doesn't own such a vehicle, so the conclusion that I am left to draw is you don't want people to know where you are going, so I will ask again: where are you going?" Yukino asked more aggressively. Haruno does praise her sister for using such detective skills, and it looks like she will have to rely more on those skills.

"Nowhere in particular. Don't worry yourself over me. Your big sister can take care of yourself." She explained.

"I am aware that you are capable of handling yourself, but entering strange vehicles and meeting with unfamiliar people is something I cannot turn a blind eye to." Yukino revealed.

"Ara, ara, whatever do you mean?"

"You are well aware what I am talking about." Yukino declared.

"I don't know what you are accusing me of unless you tell me what you think I did." Haruno rebutted.

"I am talking about the elderly man you met with at the mall. You know, the one you went into a storage room with." Yukino revealed, causing Haruno to look over at Mike while covering her phone with her hand.

"I think she is talking about you." Haruno informed Mike, still retaining the smile she had when she delivered the news to him. she removed her hand and placed her phone towards her ear once more.

"Why do you wish to know who I socialize with?" Haruno asked. That was actually a good question. Why does Yukino and her friends/acquaintances want to know what Haruno is up to? They never once wanted to know her plan. Yukino and Hikigaya were trying hard to just stay out of her way, but now, they were calling her up and inquiring of her personal matters. Whatever the reason was or lack of one, Haruno only knew that things were starting to become more interesting for her. There was a brief silence between the two speakers with one waiting for the answer, but by this point, Yukino should have known that Haruno will not tell her.

"Why don't you put on Hikigaya-kun." Haruno suggested, breaking the silence between them, but also managing to grab Mike's attention for he recognized that name from Hiratsuka.

"You wish to speak to Hikigaya-kun." She said, clearly trying to warn him about the impending danger. There were some small movement noises before a new speaker was on the line.

"Hello…" a male voice spoke out, sounding devoid of emotion.

"Jeez, is that the kind of tone you take up with your Onee-san, Hikigaya-kun?" she teased him.

"What do you want?" he interjected, skipping over the unpleasant pleasantries of idle conversation.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Hikigaya repeated the last word she said in confusion.

"Yes. I was looking forward to spending some quality time with you and the other members of the Service Club, but it seems that there are other matters that are in need of my attention." She explained. Even with a signal making it possible for communication, Hikigaya could very accurately pick out all the watered-down emotions from her explanation. The moment she started to talk to him, he knew that she would be toying with him, which is why he tried to keep things simple and straight to the point to avoid any of her conversational traps, and it seems that he has already fall into one.

"What other matters are you talking about?" he questioned, only soliciting a laugher from her.

"It's a secret." She simply stated.

"A secret, huh. I don't suppose you would let me in on it?" He asked, going along with the atmosphere of the conversation Haruno established.

"Hikigaya-kun, you shouldn't ask a girl to tell you her secrets." She happily informed him. "Anyway, take care of Yukino-chan for me. Try to keep her amused while I'm away." She requested. Another silence fell between the lines before another voice came to the phone.

"You still haven't answered my question, Nee-san. Where are you going?"

"Yukino-chan…" She said, her voice cold and emotionless, grabbing the attention of both Mike and Jesse as her sudden change of tone was unnerving for Jesse and Yukino. "It's not nice to prod into other people's affairs." She could have left it there, but what would be the point that; she has to take it further. "It makes you sound just. Like. Mom." She taunted. A long silence existed between the two sisters. Thought she cannot see her, Haruno can tell by the inability to speak up that she managed to strike a nerve, much to her amusement.

"You're one to talk, Nee-san." Yukino combated, her voice strained and difficult

"How so." She again went for the ignorance card; however, the conversation wouldn't be lasting long for the car came to a stop due to a traffic light, allowing Mike to turn around to shoot a glare at her, practically telling her to end the conversation now.

She only smiled.

"My, my Yukino-chan, while I would like to continue this conversation, it seems that end it here. The driver is getting pretty fed up, and he can be quite scary when he's mad." She informed her.

"Wait, Nee…" the conversation ended there with Haruno pressing the "end" button. Mike slowly returned back to his original position, just in time for the traffic light to turn green, giving him the go ahead to accelerate the car forward towards his destination.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, during the phone conversation Haruno was having…_

With Haruno preoccupied talking on her phone, now presented itself as an excellent opportunity for Jesse to learn more about Haruno via Mike. The circumstances surrounding Haruno were unclear and perplexing; he goes out on a dead-drop with Mike, something he has done, but Mike has to bring along some girl that doesn't look like she should be in this business at all. There was no doubt that Jesse would have questions regarding the situation. Slightly shifting his head inconspicuously so Haruno wouldn't notice—she noticed, but she acted like she didn't-Jesse was sure that Haruno was too busy on her phone conversation, providing a time for Jesse to have some questions answered. He slightly leaned over towards mike and started in a half-whisper.

"So…Mike, are you going to tell me the deal with her, or am I left to twiddle my thumbs and act like everything is cool?" Jesse stated with clear-as-present sarcasm in his voice. Mike disregarded his sassy comment and continued to drive without speaking a word to Jesse.

"Mike, you can't seriously expect me to act like bringing some girl with us on a dead-drop is nothing." His eye widened once he let his mind wander around. He drew closer, looking as if he has seen a ghost. "Don't tell me we're going to whack off some innocent girl?" He whispered harshly, panicking a bit for he does not want to kill a person, much a less a girl. Mike turned to face Jesse, meeting his eyes for a second before he replaced them back on the road.

"Don't let her appearance fool you. She is not as innocent as you think she is." Mike informed Jesse, disregarding his panic that they were going to kill her.

"What do you mean by that? Did she kill somebody?" Jesse guessed, returning back to a whisper.

"No."

"Then how can she not be innocent then. From what I can tell, we just passive-aggressively kidnapped her from a school, so how is she not innocent then." He inquired

"You don't know this girl like I do." He paused before he continued. "When I say she is not innocent; I mean it more like your popular, high school mean-girl who knows how to work people, but unlike a high school girl, she is a lot more cunning and perceptive and knows just how to mess with your head. If she is just standing there, minding her own business, then you'd never know. It's when you spend time with her you start to discover what she is really like… assuming that you can get pass her facade." Mike explained, making a right turn at the intersection.

"So what, she's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde then?" Jesse compared.

"No, but that analogy actually quite suits her now that I think about it. Look, I'm telling you right now. You should be careful around her. She knows how to get just what she wants, and I for one am not going to let her use me like some doll. You should do the same too, Jesse." He advised, calling him by name. right as Jesse was about to speak up, Haruno interrupted their private conversation to give Mike a message.

"I think she is talking about you." She interjected before returning to her conversation. The silence between Mike and Jesse remained once more. Mike took a deep breath before giving off an audible exhale, the one where a person just feel frustrated and needs a quick cool down to continue.

"Haruno Yukinoshita. She's 19 and goes to university. Her family is very wealthy as her father is the CEO of a construction company. She sometimes acts as her father's sit-in when he can't make it to a gathering. In high school, she was at the top of her class, even though she doesn't study a lot. I can tell you her medical records if you like?" Mike offered Jesse, but he was satisfied with the Haruno basics.

"If she is some rich girl, then what is she doing here with us? If her family is loaded, then surely she wouldn't need this to be doing these kind of things with us. Did her parents cut her off and is learning how to cook for extra money?" Jesse pieced the logic together, even if it didn't make too much sense.

"I can assure you that if she wanted to cook, she does have the brains to do so. Fring and Haruno came to an agreement some years ago when she came to Albuquerque. I won't tell you the details, but as long as she kept her mouth shut, then she wouldn't run into problems. It's been like this since, but now, with Fring coming to Japan for business reason, he started to pay a lot more attention to her now that there wasn't an entire ocean standing in between them." The last part was starting to sound very familiar to Jesse.

"so… what? Are we just… babysitting her?" Jesse concluded.

"Now your catching on." Mike responded. "So the sooner we finish these dead drops the better."

"Yukino-chan." both Mike and Jesse heard as the sudden change in tone sound cold and piercing, sending a small chill down Jesse's spine. "It's not nice to prod into other people's affairs. It makes you sound just. Like. Mom." She taunted in a joyful tone. The way she expressed managed to break a bit the illusion Jesse had of her, causing him to rethink more about who Haruno Yukinoshita was. It was then that Mike started to slow down due to a red light, giving him the opportunity to turn around and give Haruno a killer glare. She has been on the phone for too long for a simple thing to do like to not get people suspicious. Haruno caught sight of Mike's burning glare at her, causing her to give him one of her smile that he loathed before she finally finished her phone call, right when the light turned green, allowing Mike to proceed forward towards the first location of the dead-drop.

* * *

After traveling through the city for well over an hour, the trio finally arrived at their first destination: A small, run-down building located somewhere in the northern region of Chiba. The building in questioned looked like nobody has been inside it for years as the age of the building was evident; broken windows could be found all around the building along with rust building up on the outside of certain areas of the building. It was the type of place where teenagers would dare each other to go inside it during night to test their courage—a substitute for traveling through a wooded area. Mike slowly brought the car to the front of the building. He shifted the car into park and turned it off, taking the keys out of the ignition and putting them in his pocket. He reached down and pulled a small lever located just on the left of him around his feet, pulling it up and opening the truck. Without saying anything to Jesse or Haruno, he got out of the car and went to the back, opening the truck and grabbing a shovel, placing it over his shoulder and headed towards the building. He, however, stopped in front of Jesse, causing him to lower the window while Mike lowered himself to his eye level.

"It's like before, so there is not much I can tell you." He informed him. "Remember what I told you. Try not to get too chummy with her." He warned as his dead eyes were intently focused on Haruno, who was also making eye contact with him with no harshness in her stare whatsoever, but Mike knew better. Both kept their stare at him until he vanished behind the building, finally leaving the Jesse and Haruno alone together in the car. For any other regular guy, this would have been some sort of dream come true. To be alone with a beautiful girl like Haruno would be titillating; however, seeing that they were in a special situation that involved grabbing large sums of cash from random locations did discourage such anticipation. Normally, Jesse would have been standing outside, trying to entertain himself with whatever surrounded him. He once tried to stand guard for Mike while waited for him, but Mike told him that it was unnecessary. However, with Haruno in the back, things were definitely different. She wasn't here like he was, to be Mike's companion; she was here so Mike could keep an eye on her, just like him when he first started doing these jobs with Mike. At least with Jesse, they didn't want him to do crystal, so why would Mike, and more specifically, Gus, want to have Haruno be watched? Maybe there was something he was missing? He thought on her did certainly changed when he heard her talk very seriously on the phone. The only other person that Gus had that kind of impressive supervision would be Mr. White, and for good reason. All these questions and no answers, and he doesn't anticipate getting answers anytime soon. After a few minutes of utter silence, with Jesse in the front tapping his hand on the front of the car, and Haruno sitting in the back, the situation doesn't seem pleasant to say the least. Jesse's only saving grace was that there was a packet of cigarettes burning a hole in his sweater pocket, and right now, he could use a smoke.

"Yo, I gonna light up a cigarette." He announced as he got out of the car. He pulled out his pack, picked out a single cigarette, lit it up with his lighter and inhaled a good puff of nicotine. He held it in for a while before exhaling all of it out, where the gray spoke dispersed in the small gust of wind. He remained leaned up against the car, enjoying his cigarette until the sound of a door opening could be heard. Looking to his left, he saw Haruno exiting the car, closing the door, and leaning up against the car along with Jesse with a few feet separating them. Jesse opened up his pack, offering a cigarette to Haruno, but she pushed his hand away. After taking another puff and exhaling the smoke, Jesse thought that it was time to break the ice with Haruno.

"So… how do you know Mike?" he started out with a casual question. Haruno pushed herself off the car, took a few steps, and turned around to face Jesse.

"Why? Does my relationship with Mike-san peak your interest?" She answered with a question of her own. Jesse inhaled another batch of smoke, and exhaled it moments later.

"Well… kind of. I just can't see how a person like yourself knows someone like Mike. It just seems… weird just knowing the type of person Mike is." Jesse fumbled around with his explanation as he himself doesn't understand fully the relationship Mike and Haruno share other than with Mike having negative feelings towards her. Haruno took one step closer to him, giving him a small smile as she slightly tilted her head. That somehow made Jesse uncomfortable the way she did that.

"And how would you describe a person like me, Jesse-san." She prodded, inching herself closer to him. Beside the cutesy girl act she seemed to be adopting for him, Jesse couldn't help but feel that something was off, like he needed to feel weary of her. Her question was every-bit viable, but the way she asked it was weary in the sense that she was trying to get something out of him, but he didn't know what.

"You know…" he paused, searching for the right words once more. "Some… rich… beautiful girl caught up in the wrong crowd." Jesse just spat out the words that came to mind. Haruno bore a surprised face for a slight moment before it transformed itself back into a smile, somehow more mischievous than before.

"My, oh my, that is rather bold of you, Jesse-san. We only just met a few hours ago, and now you're hitting on me. I'm flattered." She teased. _Wow…_ Jesse thought as he has never encountered such a… daring person. Nevertheless, he has to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Wait, no. I'm not hitting on you. I have a girlfriend back home." Haruno let out a small laugh covered by her hand.

"Really? Because some people consider that hitting on someone." she explained as she drew closer to him. "Still, it was awfully nice of you to complement me like that. I know some people who would never compliment me the way you do; it just makes me feel sad sometimes." She shared, trying to score some pity points from Jesse, though it didn't really bother her if Yukino or Hikigaya never compliment her. Jesse only brought the cigarette up to his mouth and puffed away. Haruno then retreated her advance, taking a step back and walking back to her original position and leaned against the car once more. By the time she got there, Jesse had released the smoke in his lungs. Feeling satisfied, he flicked the remaining part of the cigarette on the ground and smothered the heat away with his foot.

"I know it's none of my business, but… what did you do to piss off Mike?" He inquired. It was at this moment that Haruno winked at him while bringing her finger up to her mouth, only this time, placing it between her lips, suggesting to quiet down.

"That's a secret, Jesse-san." She replied.

"A secret, huh." Jesse repeated as he reached down to get his second cigarette, but midway through, his hand was suddenly stopped. Looking down, he could see Haruno's hand over his own hand with the packet of cigarettes. He looked over at her, but was surprised to find her right up in his facing, forcing him to lean away from her as she was only inches away.

"Woah!" he hollered. "Ever heard of personal space. Jesus, you almost scared the S%&# out of me?" She began to let out small heaps of giggles as the reaction from Jesse was pretty much what she expected.

"You should learn to watching your language. Especially since you are here on a date with me."

"What." He said in bewilderment before some unexpected coughs came about, probably due to her statement.

"Yo, this isn't date."

"Oh contraire, Jesse-san. I believe this would constitute a date if you think about it." She refuted.

"Care to enlighten me then." *Pow*

"What was that for?" he let out as he held his shoulder to relieve the pain.

"That is not a question you ask somebody on a date, especially in the tone you said it in, Jesse-san." She stepped back. "A date is when two agreeing parties decide to go places somewhere, and seeing that we are in a place together and have another place to be, I would say that it would constitute as a date, even if it is not a very good one." She explained, taking a few steps away from the car before twirling around to face Jesse.

"If this is a date, then how would you explain Mike then?" he put out there, poking a whole in her logic, however…

"Easy. He's our chauffer. Nothing more, noting less." She answered. Jesse does have to admit that the girl in front of him was crafty. He began to wonder if this was what Mike was talking about? He put his hands on his hips and started to look around like he has accepted her logic.

"You just have all the answers, don't you?" he stated with wit in his tone.

"If I think long enough and creative enough…" She teased.

"If that's so, let me ask you then: Why do you think you are out here with us?" Haruno let out a big grin such a way that she was actually planning on him asking that, but Haruno doesn't expect Jesse to come to that conclusion; he is much more naïve, and she was more cunning.

"There is only one reason why Mike would keep an eye on a girl such as myself?" she playfully said, taking big steps towards him. "Mike is keeping an eye on me. Making sure that I don't interfere with whatever plans he may have" She answered, looking straight on at Jesse at a mere three feet away. Jesse was taken back that she was able to come to such a conclusion, to be able to understand the situation she was in was strides in showing Jesse that she was somebody that has to be watched. Now seeing the observant Haruno arise from her girly façade, Jesse continued on with the questioning.

"Do you know why he's keeping an eye on you?" All playfulness and felicity that surrounded her instantly vanished as Haruno stared into Jesse's eyes with apathy and seriousness. The mood around her had instantly changed that he was quite surprised that it happened so quickly. The way she stared at him with her cold, unforgiving eyes was enough to cause Jesse to take the smallest of steps back and letting down a big gulp.

"Because Gus-san told him to." She looked off to the side, taking in the view of the surrounding buildings, her eyes devoid of any playfulness, both fake or real. Jesse knew that he had to change the subject. The mood that established itself was unpleasant to say the least, but also, he figured out for himself that a playful Haruno is much more relaxing, albeit tiresome, then to have in introspective, apathetic Haruno. With nothing else to say, Jesse spat out the first thing that came to his mind in attempts to change the mood.

"Yo, Haruno. Do you have a sister or something?" She stopped looking at the buildings to look at Jesse, taking on once again a smile.

"Why do you ask?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.

"It just… on the phone, you mentioned Yukino, and I sort of met a Yukino Yukinoshita two days ago, and was just wondering…"

"You were wondering that since we both share the same last name, then that automatically makes us siblings. Am I wrong." She finished for him, leaving him speechless as she made him felt that he did something wrong.

"You should never make such assumptions in the Future, but, for now, your assumption is correct. Yes, Yukino-chan is my cute, little sister." She revealed. "Tell me, Jesse-san. What were your first impressions of her?" She asked him, drawing near him once more, forcing Jesse to create some space between them.

"I don't know. I thought, at first, that she was some sort of prick for not returning my hello when I greeted her from my door." He explained, forcing out a devilish smile from Haruno.

"At her door, you say. Tell me, were you stalking her?" she asked mischievously.

"What? No! It's just that we're neighbors…

"Neighbors… my, my, my, I would have never expected for someone like yourself to move in next to her, especially for a place that charges so much. Tell me, how could you afford such a place?" Jesse couldn't just flat out tell her that he was a meth cook that allowed him to stay at such place, but he had to satisfy her question for she doesn't seem like the type of person to leave questions open-ended.

"Let just say I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy." Jesse answered.

 _Saul-san…_ Haruno thought as that is something that he would say about how he manages to have special task done. Haruno will admit that Saul does have his uses; he was certainly useful during her time in Albuquerque. He may be some flamboyant, cheap lawyer, but he is magician at what he does when it comes to the law, American law at least. However, outside of that, he was just some sort of gullible, spineless idiot. She still remembers the time when Saul squirmed on the floor after Mike came into his office with this silent rage around him, threatening to bend his arms backwards in exchange for some information.

"I wonder what is taking Mike-san so long. Doesn't he know that it isn't polite to keep a girl waiting this long? Especially since we're on a date." she answered, causing Jesse to shake his head in disapproval. It was when she said that that Mike appeared once more from behind the building, resting the shovel on his left shoulder while caring a brown, raggedy bag in his right hand. Mike walked up to the two of them, giving a dead-eyed expression to Jesse, something quite typical for him, and glaring at Haruno even though he didn't really change his stare; Haruno just knows this. After passing them, he goes towards the driver's seat, opens the door, and pulls the lever once more, opening the truck. He placed the bag and the shovel in the back and proceeded towards the driver seat. Jesse and Haruno were already in the car by this point. Mike got into the car, inserted the keys into the ignition, turned on the car, and began to drive slowly, bring up the car to speed and entered the streets once more to reach the last destination, which was across town.

* * *

It was during their car ride that the day was starting to die out as the sun started to hide itself behind the horizon while changing the color of the sky to orange. Jesse was playing around with his packet of cigarettes while Haruno remained seated as she watched the streets go by, feeling a bit bored seeing that Mike will not allow for any talking to commence. Mike, on the other hand, was more observant than usual. He couldn't tell why, but being in a vastly different place compared to a desert had made him… cautious.

"Jesse." He grumbled, breaking the long silence that had established itself. "I don't usually do this, but open the glove department." He ordered. Jesse, a bit confused, slowly did what Mike asked of him He unlocked the glove department, and it flung down. He looked inside and was surprised to see what was actually in there. He slowly reached in it, taking a hold of the item of interest around the comfort grip, and pulled it out.

"Mike…" Jesse asked, confused as to what this meant.

"Being in a foreign place just doesn't sit right with me, and you need to find a way to protect yourself." He explained while Jesse continued to hold it out, giving Haruno a chance to see what it was.

 _You never cease to amaze me, Mike-san._ She thought as she was impressed by his skills to actually able to obtain a 9mm pistol in Japan.

"Streets get dangerous, kid." Mike explained. Jesse continued to marvel at the gun. The last time he had held a gun was when he had to kill Gale. He still has nightmares about what he had to do, but being out with Mike, helping him out has managed to calm him. a bit. It was a better alternative than to spoke the product, getting high and inviting a bunch of homeless people to party at his place. It was when he shifted his eyes upward towards the rearview mirror that he snapped out of his thoughtful state, realizing who was sitting in the back, and how she would be defenseless if something were to go down.

"Mike, what about her? Should she get a gun to protect herself also?" Jesse wondered; however, the response he got was rather quick and straight to the point.

"I'd sooner trust Goodman to pull a bullet out of me than to give her a gun." Mike explained.

"You can protect her yourself." Jesse continued to stare at the pistol, observing it with his hands and eyes as he brushed along the cool metal around it. He turned to Mike, who was still focus on the road, before turning to Haruno, who was smiling at him.

"I will be in your care, so don't let me down, Onii-san." She playfully said. Jesse turned himself back to face the front and placed the gun back in the glove department. He doesn't need it now, but something was telling him that he might actually need to use it.

He really wished that he wouldn't need to.

* * *

After another two hours since they left the first area, they finally made it to the second and last area: another rundown place, only this time, it was located in the outskirts of town where there were no other buildings standing tall over it. As accordance to usual, Mike pulled up right in front of the building. He didn't need to tell his passengers that they needed to stay here, so instead, as soon as he turned off the car, he got out of it, and proceeded towards the building, not needing to take the shovel with him. Silence had reigned once more. Jesse, feeling a bit more comfortable, and yet, weary of Haruno, turned himself around, taking sight of Haruno leaned up against the window, half sleep. She doesn't usually become this sleepy at this time, but driving across town with nothing to do has reduced her to her current state. When she realizes that Jesse was looking at her, she picked herself off from the window.

"Jesse-san, if you stare at…"

Phhhh! Phhhh! Phhhh! Exploded out of nowhere, forcing Jesse to lung at the glove department, repeatedly trying to open the glove department frantically before taking pulling out the pistol Mike lent him. Haruno did jump at the sounds of gunfire, forcing herself to duck underneath out of sight. Jesse panted as he held the gun around his chest, deciding whether to take a peak outside. He looked over to Haruno and was quite surprised to see her in a relatively calm state compared to him, who was worried that his heart was going to beat itself out. Both of them remained where they were for two long minutes, until the distinct sound of the doors rang across the area. Jesse poked his head out, and saw Mike with the bag in his left hand while he dragged out a body by his legs. He slow started to arise from his covered position as it was clear that Mike handled the situation, as always. As he arose, Mike took notice of Jesse's half-panicked face, but did not stop him from making a request.

"Are you going to stand there, or are you going to open the trunk." Mike question. Jesse took a moment to register what had just happened before he did what he was told. He reached across the driver's seat and pulled the small lever up, opening the truck, followed by Jesse exiting the car to help Mike with the body. Haruno slowly picked herself up, only to witness Mike and Jesse dragging a body across the floor. She watched them do what was necessary with nothing but a blank expression, not of panic, not of joy, just watched with a blank face. She had no words about what happened. From what she could see, the person looked to be around his early 30's, but what came to as a surprise was that the person was not Japanese, his skin tone was too dark and didn't look Japanese at all. If she had to guess about his nationality, then she would have to pick Mexican, which would mean only one thing. But why would the Mexican Cartel be here in Japan? Could it be about Gus? Or was there something else going on? All these questions and no answers. As soon as Jesse and Mike placed the body in the truck, they returned back into the car. Without so much as checking up on her, Mike started the car. Jesse, on the other hand, turned around to talk with Haruno.

"You okay?" He asked. Haruno looked Jesse straight in the eye.

"I'm fine, Jesse-san." She answered, a hollow smile present.

* * *

 **With this short story finished up, I thought it would be nice to leave with some you guys with some thought. Vince Gilligan spoke on the character of Mike, which reads,**

 _ **Mike is a man who knows he's lost a good chunk of his soul, and seems sad and world-weary about it. But he goes on nonetheless because he knows his strengths as well as his weaknesses.**_

 **\- Vince Gilligan**

 **What do you guys think about this?**

 **The second thing that I wanted to share is that Mike once gave a speech about half-measures. I will go without saying that the monologue given there was exceptionally good, and would recommend you watch it. In regards to half-measures, do any of you think that, at any point, Hachiman, Yukino, or Yui have taken a half-measure?**

 **The last thing that I should mention is that I am currently working on another story, and I am doing my best to get a better understanding of who the characters are, and let me tell you that it is not easy. To give you guys a hint as to what I am reading, my profile picture is the hint. Anyways, feel free to comment on whatever you guys want to regarding anything.**


	5. The Stakeout

**Mike yet again has another task to complete, and unlike last time, he can complete this task by himself.**

If there is one thing that can be said about Mike Ehrmantraut, it is his that his patience knows no bounds. The line of work Mike involves himself in demands that he keeps a high level of patience. Going around the desert and stopping at seemingly random places to pick up dead drops scattered by a few miles may seem tedious to many, but not to Mike. Or having to perform some surveillance at a location while staying inside his car for several hours while under the intense New Mexico heat can prove challenging. After all, 90 percent of the job requires Mike to play the Waiting Game for extensive amounts of time. Jesse found out the hard way—much to Mike's displeasure seeing he is the one who had to put up with Jesse's annoying habits. In the end, Mike's job requires a high level of patience, and Mike has been developing his patience for years now, and his superior sees and values such a virtue for he demands nothing more than to conduct his business in a professional manner, and Mike Ehrmantraut is a professional in his line of work.

So, it came to no surprise to Mike when Gus issued out a task; a surveillance job of a person of interest. This is rather quite common back in Arizona whenever Gus suspects—and is usually correct—something is either wrong or requires a close eye on for Gus demands that everything runs smoothly for he never takes chances—except for Haruno, but she is a special case. However, this surveillance task is different for unlike the others is the irregularity surrounding the target person. Mike has no issues watching somebody very closely. He would break into the person's home if need be, but his target… well, Mike fails to see the benefit to watching such a person for she clearly poses no threat to their operation. The only thing that Mike can possibly see for watching such a person is because of a blood relation to somebody he and Gus are already well-acquainted with. Gus always has a purpose for his action; he is not the type of man to allow for vital task to fall to chance—he sees chance as a weakness. When asked about the nature of the task, Gus replied with, "There is a purpose to this. In time, it will prove vital, but allow me to worry about the details. Just keep an eye on her and report anything that may prove beneficial to us." The vagueness of such an explanation is enough for Mike to get the idea. Fine by Mike. Gus is his boss, so he isn't going to further question Gus. Saying nothing to convey their mutual understanding, Mike leaves Gus's presence, bringing him to where he is now: parked outside on the curb in a semi-residential area, waiting for his prime target to leave her home.

Mike always ensures that he performs his task well and thorough, which is why he has been waiting where he is now since 5:00 a.m. Again, most other would have been bored right out of their mind, waiting for three hours inside a car, having nothing to do except for surfing the web on their phone, but Mike is old fashion. He spent the first hour catching up on some reading by bringing along the same newspaper he had on the plane trip to Japan, intent on reading the entirety of the newspaper. The second hour was spent doing some crossword puzzles out of a crossword book he packed for such an occasion. For those who don't know Mike well, he is an exceptionally good expert at crosswords puzzles. This goes back to his ticket person days at the court house when he had to be held up inside a tiny box for well over the entirety of the day. It also brought back the semi-hysterical, semi-irritating times of having to deal with Saul—James at the time—and his overexaggerating tirades of having him go back into the building to secure one more stamp to allow him to go through. He always exaggerated it almost as if Mike is handing him some sort of death sentence while Mike look on at him with apathetic, slightly-irritated eyes, but that is Saul for you. The third hour consisted of breakfast, but since he couldn't go and leave for a diner, Mike prepared himself a simple breakfast consisting of two pimento cheese sandwiches with an apple and a thermos housing black coffee. It only took him thirty minutes to consume the entirety of his breakfast, he spent the last thirty minutes sitting and staring at the entrance of an apartment complex, bringing the time now to 8:20.

Naturally, being a private investigator, Mike did a little bit of digging around on his target. Dismissing the fact that she is the top of her class and is the second daughter of a successful businessman, nothing really stands out; she's average in the eyes of Mike, and it would make sense to Mike that she would put forth an effort to leave around the same time every day to make it to school, which is right about… now.

At the front entrance of the apartment complex and after three hours of waiting, the black, long-haired target finally emerged. As suspected, she wore her school uniform seeing that it is a school day for her. Finally, Mike can begin his task of watching Yukino Yukinoshita, younger sister of Haruno Yukinoshita, closely as requested by Gus. Again, Mike doesn't know the exact nature why Gus is having Mike watch Yukino when she doesn't seem that much of a threat, but the man does have his reason; he always does, so if Gus gives the order to watch Yukino, Mike is not going to argue with him. He is going to watch her, and that is the end of the story. Not much longer after she leaves her apartment, Gus is once again right for Mike is witnessing something very interesting that Gus might want to know about.

"Jesse…" he grumbles, reclining back in his seat to watch both Yukino and Jesse walk out together out of the building, talking with each other about who knows what. Once they reach the sidewalk, they both go their separate ways with Jesse walking to the left and Yukino to the right. Mike didn't take it as a surprise Jesse didn't notice him sitting in his car; he's going to have to talk to him about taking notice of his surroundings, but it works out for him in the end seeing that his cover would have been blown if Jesse were to notice him. However, the real question for him is how on earth did a twenty-five-year-old acquaint himself with a high school girl? Noticing that Jesse needed somebody to find him such a place. Mike knows you need to know some powerful people to live inside that apartment complex. There is only one name that comes to mind, and he isn't too surprised by it.

"Saul…" Mike mutters to himself. Even after all these years of knowing Saul, Mike never thought Saul would find an apartment in the exact place with somebody he has to keep an eye on. He gives off one of his grunts and pulls away from the curve for Yukino is starting to go beyond his reach. Mike must deal with Saul later. He allows for a small chuckle to escape for he can already envision Saul flailing his arms around and nervously backing away from Mike for he already can see what Saul is going to do, flailing his arms around, nervously backing away while endeavoring to smooth talk his way out. After all, Mike doesn't have to do much to establish an intimidating presence when it comes around Mike. Though he doesn't want to do it, he has half a mind to invite Haruno to such a meeting just to make Saul that much more uncomfortable, but does he really want to deal with her? Mike already finds her quite annoying despite what people who know her might say.

Several minutes transpire, and Mike finally pulls up to the curve for he can no longer purse and watch Yukino without blowing his cover. Eventually, Mike pulls up to the curve for he can no longer pursue Yukino. The main reason being she just entered the school, and it wouldn't be very subtle if he just waltzes in there with no reason whatsoever. Yukino may be in exceptional student, but she never once notices him. Good. Mike has enough experience to know the ins and outs on how to follow a person. More and more students begin to pour into the school as time goes by, and as they do so, Mike catches eye of Shizuka intermixed with all the students.

"Hmpf, well I'll be." He grunts, a little surprised that she works in the same school that Yukino goes to. That only makes thing much harder, but maybe it doesn't have to be. He already knows that Yukino and her friends will recognize him, but it shouldn't be a problem seeing that they don't know the type of business he is involved with. With Yukino out of sight, his task is complete. With nothing else to do, Mike whips out his phone and begins dialing a number. A few moments pass and….

"It's me."

"Mike, to what do I owe the pleasure to?"

"We need to talk."

"Talk. Well, I don't know. It just that I have a lot to do and…

"Shut up, Saul. I don't want to hear it. Now, I want you to go to a place called Saize. Be there by five."

"Uh, Mike, I am not too sure where that is."

"Figure it out, Saul."

"Uh, sure Mike, whatever you say."

"Saul, bring her too."

"Wait, you don't mean H…

"yeah, I do."

"Wait, wait, wait, don't you want to talk about."

"No, just be there by 5 and have her there too. We have some business to talk about."

With that, Mike hangs up and begins dialing again.

"It's me"

"…"

"You were right. There is something important you might want to know."


End file.
